By: Ryskeldi Satke, Casey Michel, Sertaç Canalp Korkmaz Screengrab of Kazakh militants fighting in Syria (Source: RFE/RL) The threat of Islamist radicalism in the former Soviet republics of Central Asia has been a topic of debate among the analyst community…
Category: Central Asia
Ukraine truce collapses, 73 dead in fresh clashes
KIEV, Ukraine — At least 20 protesters were killed Thursday morning as gunfire rang out in central Kiev, breaking the shaky truce reached between President Victor Yanukovich and opposition leaders the previous night. Oleh Musiy, chief of the protest camp health service, told The Times…
War in Syria Has Reverberations in the North Caucasus
On September 20, the first deputy director of the Federal Security Service (FSB), Sergei Smirnov estimated that 300-400 Russian citizens are participating in the conflict in Syria. “They will come back and that, naturally, is posing a serious danger,” the…
U.S. Concerned About Pakistani Nuke Security, Secret Budget Reveals
U.S. intelligence officials are far more worried about the security of Pakistan’s nuclear weapons and materials than the government has publicly admitted, according to a report on the secret budget for U.S. intelligence operations that was leaked to the Washington Post by…
Decision Time for Central Asia: Russia or China?
Vladimir Putin’s vision of an expanded Eurasian Customs Union poses a dilemma for Central Asia’s former Soviet republics – do they privilege their relations with Russia or deepen their ties with China? Li Lifan and Raffaello Pantucci consider the problems…
Syrian warplanes pound targets near Turkey
(CNN) — As Syrian government warplanes operated uncomfortably close to Turkey’s border again Wednesday, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton backed up American support for the opposition by adding to Washington’s humanitarian aid. Government jets pounded Ras al-Ain on Wednesday, a…
Turkey accuses Russia of supplying Syria with munitions
Turkish prime minister’s claims contradict Russian denial that plane forced to land in Ankara was carrying military equipment
Azerbaijan and Israel nurture a discreet partnership
Critics worry old Soviet airbases could be used to attack Iran
Azerbaijan Breaks Iranian-Linked Spy Network
Jamestown.org: The South Caucasus has emerged as a battleground between Iran and its adversaries. Recent weeks have seen Iranian assassination attempts against Israeli diplomats in Baku and Tbilisi, a massive Israeli-Azerbaijani arms deal (EDM, March 7) and, most recently, the…
Putin Uses Symbols of Soviet Power to Announce Idea of Eurasian Union
Jamestown.org: On October 3, 2011, Vladimir Putin made headlines by putting forward the idea of a Eurasian Union including several post-Soviet states. This was his first foreign policy initiative since the announcement of his candidacy for a third mandate, made…