Bruce Pannier is a Central Asia analyst and appears regularly on the Majlis podcast for RFE/RL.
An agreement on the Turkmen-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India natural gas pipeline has been reached after 15 years of negotiations. But the project most overcome a number of obstacles, including financing and a proposed route that would take the pipeline through some of the most hotly contested territory in the world.
Time is running out for Kyrgyzstan's new parliament to form a coalition, and the rumblings that the country is on the brink of another political crisis are getting louder. Legislators are now on their second attempt at working out a solution, with the very real prospect that parliament will be dissolved should they fail.
Observers are puzzled about Tashkent's lack of clear direction when it comes to its own future and its relations with the outside world.
Third attempt in eight years fails to advance vital questions as Caspian summit has ends in Baku apparently without major breakthroughs.
Kyrgyz President Roza Otunbaeva today tasked the Social Democratic Party, the second-place finisher in last month's elections, with forming a coalition in parliament.
After a month's delay, Kyrgyzstan's newly elected parliament has finally managed to assemble. But the first session revealed that many more obstacles await, with no coalition agreement in place and several deputies failing to show up.
The term "public defender" has taken on a new meaning in some trials in southern Kyrgyzstan, where for some lawyers lately it has meant defending oneself against an angry public.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev goes to Turkmenistan for a two-day visit. The main topic of discussion, as it has been for years, is the price of Turkmenistan's natural gas.
Kyrgyzstan's parliamentary elections seemed to go well, but just days after the October 10 poll there are signs of discontent from various quarters. As coalition talks begin, a disputed vote count could change the electoral arithmetic.
Ata-Jurt, a nationalist party that has strong support among ethnic Kyrgyz in the south, has emerged as the leader by the narrowest of margins in Kyrgyzstan's parliamentary elections.
Kyrgyzstan is holding its first parliamentary elections since former President Kurmanbek Bakiev was chased from power in April. With no incumbent president, no ruling party, and 29 parties competing, the campaign has been wide open.
Russia's influence in Kyrgyzstan's upcoming parliamentary elections is impossible to ignore. While some are calling Moscow's recent moves blatant interference in another country's internal affairs, others see advantages in getting the Kremlin's support and welcome Russia's increased attention ahead of the poll.
Kyrgyzstan's parliamentary elections have traditionally been among the most eventful in Central Asia, and the recent ousting of Kurmanbek Bakiev as president and deadly ethnic violence in June suggest this poll could eclipse its predecessors.
Turkmenistan has been vowing to diversify its energy export routes for some time, but until recently, little was known about where its energy future would lead. The president provided some clarity during a recent speech, mentioning routes in all directions except its traditionally most important one -- the northern route through Russia.
The Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan has announced that its leader, Tahir Yuldash, was killed nearly a year ago. The IMU also announced that it had selected a new leader, Usman Odil.
Kyrgyz President Roza Otunbaeva travels to the southern city of Osh, where she plans to meet with a dubious ally: the city's mayor, who some suspect of involvement in the interethnic violence that broke out there in June.
International donors have agreed to supply $1.1 billion in aid over the next 30 months to help Kyrgyzstan recover from months of political and ethnic violence.
Despite residents' efforts to return to normal life in the crippled southern Kyrgyz city of Osh, ongoing threats and allegations of abductions and torture more than a month after deadly clashes are pushing ethnic Kyrgyz and Uzbeks even further apart.
The authorities in Kyrgyzstan accuse Islamist militants of taking part in ethnic violence in the south of the country last month that killed more than 300 people and threatened to undermine the new government. But locals say religious groups weren't involved and that the government's accusations threaten to provoke further unrest.
As the OSCE signs off on sending a small international police force to help maintain order in southern Kyrgyzstan, and allegations of abuse continue to emerge, the mayor of Osh says no such force is needed and dismisses the suggestion that human rights violations are being committed.
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