Pakistan seems on track in 2017 for another year of just getting by. The country seems likely as in the recent past to avoid fully confronting its most challenging problems yet managing to do enough to avoid their becoming seriously worse.
The Turkmen government has been proudly proclaiming its UN-recognized status as a neutral country for more than 20 years now. Ashgabat's policy of "positive neutrality" is, since September 2016, even part of the country's constitution. But the policy is not always positive for Turkmenistan, and the current gas spat with neighbor Iran might be a case in point.
Afghan Taliban seem to have solidified their position on the ground in Afghanistan in 2016. Their confidence is evident from recent statements announcing that they are moving the remaining Taliban leadership from Pakistan to Afghanistan.
In his new year message to the Afghan leadership, Pakistan’s new army chief has pledged to work for peace with the neighboring country.
Tajik authorities are looking into claims by an Afghan official that Taliban heavy weapons are being repaired by Russian engineers in Tajikistan.
This past year in Central Asia proved every bit as interesting as it was predicted to be. (The views expressed in this blog post do not necessarily reflect the views of RFE/RL.)
What should new Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyaev change? What must he change to keep the country together or to move it forward? What changes has he already initiated and why? These are some of the topics that were addressed in the latest Majlis podcast.
On December 8, 1991, the leaders of Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus declared that the Soviet Union had "ceased to exist." Twenty-five years later, we look back on some key milestones -- inside and outside the Soviet Union – on the road to its collapse.
Russia is jostling for a new role in Afghanistan following the end of NATO’s combat mission in the country at the end of 2014.
The Central Asian states marked 25 years of independence this year. The Majlis, RFE/RL's weekly podcast about Central Asia, wanted to do its part to mark the anniversary also, and to mark it in a unique way.
Kyrgyzstan's December 11 referendum on amendments to the constitution has been a contentious issue since plans to hold it were announced this last summer, and it appears it will be an issue in the coming months as the country prepares for the presidential election late next year.
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