Central Asia - News & Discussions

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Singha
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Re: Central Asia - News & Discussions

Post by Singha »

india should aim to capture and squat on Skardu-Gilgit belt and just annex it. will cut off both karakoram highway and the road via Aksai chin forver.

that will take care CPEC.
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Re: Central Asia - News & Discussions

Post by Mukesh.Kumar »

Long time Rusophile President of Khazakstan quits. What next? Another bout of instability in Central Asia.

Kazakh leader Nazarbayev resigns after three decades

With its oil and gas reserves, mineral wealth, borders adjoining key Central Asian states the country had been peaceful under him. No militancy. Wonder what next
ramana
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Re: Central Asia - News & Discussions

Post by ramana »

Up. need to pay attention to this region.
ramana
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Re: Central Asia - News & Discussions

Post by ramana »

Up. Please don't open new threads.
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Re: Central Asia - News & Discussions

Post by ricky_v »

https://eurasianet.org/fighting-between ... jan-widens
Fierce fighting between Armenia and Azerbaijan continued for a third day, with a reported 11 soldiers on both sides killed. Both sides also reported the other attacking civilian settlements in what appears to be a widening conflict.
The fighting, which broke out on July 12, is now the deadliest since the “April War” of 2016, when more than 200 on both sides were killed. But that conflict took place on the line of conflict between the Armenian-controlled de facto republic of Nagorno-Karabakh and Azerbaijan proper, where clashes have been more common. The more recent battles have been on the international border between Armenia and Azerbaijan, where there have been occasional exchanges of fire in recent years, but not fighting this serious since the 1990s.
When the ceasefire is violated, suspicion typically falls on Azerbaijan, as Armenia has little to gain from disturbing the status quo: its forces control the territory at the heart of the conflict, Nagorno-Karabakh, as well as several surrounding districts of internationally recognized Azerbaijani territory.

But given that this fighting started on the border with Armenia, not the line of contact with Karabakh, that logic is less applicable: Azerbaijan has less to gain by fighting in Armenia proper.
Indeed, perhaps the most consequential “both sides” statement came from the Russia-led Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), of which Armenia also is a member. Quickly after the fighting broke out, Armenian officials began to publicly call for the CSTO to get involved. “The issue is that this is effectively an attack on a CSTO member state,” Armenia’s ambassador to Moscow, Vardan Toganyan, told Russian radio Govorit Moskva on July 13.
Those speculations have been heightened since 2018, when Armenia’s “Velvet Revolution” brought in a new government including many pro-Western and anti-Russia officials. Moscow’s concerns were exacerbated when the new authorities’ anti-corruption campaign took aim at Yuri Khachaturov, a former senior Armenian military officer who then became the CSTO’s secretary general. All that has raised questions about the extent to which Russia (which pulls the strings in the CSTO) will be interested in sticking its neck out should Armenia need meaningful support.

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Re: Central Asia - News & Discussions

Post by IndraD »

Armenia and Azerbaijan erupt into fighting over disputed Nagorno-Karabakh https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-54314341

Heavy fighting has erupted between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region, with both civilians and combatants killed.
Accusing Azerbaijan of air and artillery attacks, Armenia reported downing helicopters and destroying tanks, and declared martial law.
Azerbaijan said it had begun a counter-offensive in response to shelling.
The region is internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan but controlled by ethnic Armenians.
They broke away in the dying years of the Soviet Union. Both Armenia and Azerbaijan were part of the communist state, which sought to suppress ethnic and religious differences.
Amid the clashes, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said he was confident of regaining control over the breakaway region.
Martial law has also been declared in some regions of Azerbaijan.


The conflict in the Caucasus Mountains has remained unresolved for more than three decades, with periodic bouts of fighting. Border clashes in July killed at least 16 people, prompting the largest demonstration for years in the Azerbaijani capital Baku, where there were calls for the region's recapture.
On Sunday, Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan pledged support for Azerbaijan during the new crisis while Russia, traditionally seen as an ally of Armenia, called for an immediate ceasefire and talks to stabilise the situation.
France, which has a large Armenian community, called for an immediate ceasefire and dialogue, while Iran, which borders both Azerbaijan and Armenia, offered to broker peace talks.
How did the fighting spread?
Armenia's defence ministry said an attack on civilian settlements in Nagorno-Karabakh, including the regional capital Stepanakert, began at 08:10 local time (04:10 GMT) on Sunday.
A woman and child were killed, officials said. The separatist authorities in Nagorno-Karabakh said 16 of their servicemen had died, with 100 injured.
Armenia said it had shot down two helicopters and three drones, as well as destroying three tanks.

Armenia's government declared martial law and total military mobilisation, shortly after a similar announcement by the authorities inside Nagorno-Karabakh.
Martial law is an emergency measure under which the military takes over the authority and functions of the civilian government.

"Get ready to defend our sacred homeland," Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said after accusing Azerbaijan of "pre-planned aggression".
Warning that the region was on the brink of a "large-scale war", and accusing Turkey of "aggressive behaviour", he urged the international community to unite to prevent any further destabilisation.

According to Azerbaijani prosecutors, five members of the same family were killed by Armenian shelling of one village in Azerbaijan.
Azerbaijan's defence ministry confirmed the loss of one helicopter but said the crew had survived, and reported that 12 Armenian air defence systems had been destroyed. It denied other losses reported by Armenia.
President Aliyev said he had ordered a large-scale counter-offensive operation in response to Armenian army attacks.

"As a result of the counter-offensive operation, a number of Azerbaijani residential areas that were under occupation have been liberated," he said in remarks broadcast on television.
"I am confident that our successful counter-offensive operation will put an end to the occupation, to the injustice, to the 30-year-long occupation."
Armenia's defence ministry denied any villages had been lost to Azerbaijan.

Nagorno-Karabakh - key facts
A mountainous region of about 4,400 sq km (1,700 sq miles)
Traditionally inhabited by Christian Armenians and Muslim Turks
In Soviet times, it became an autonomous region within the republic of Azerbaijan
Internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan, but majority of population is ethnic Armenian
An estimated one million people displaced by 1990s war, and about 30,000 killed
Separatist forces captured some extra territory around the enclave in Azerbaijan in the 1990s war
Stalemate has largely prevailed since a 1994 ceasefire
Russia has traditionally been seen as an ally of the Armenians

President Erdogan called Armenia "the biggest threat to peace and tranquillity in the region".

The Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) has long been trying to mediate a settlement of the conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh, with diplomats from France, Russia and the US - making up the OSCE Minsk Group - trying to build on a 1994 ceasefire.
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Re: Central Asia - News & Discussions

Post by darshan »

Not to worry for islamists. pukitbots are here.
Pakistani bots on Twitter vow to fight for Muslim majority Azerbaijan after clashes erupt with Armenia over border issue
https://www.opindia.com/2020/09/pakista ... t-armenia/
....
Many social media trolls from Pakistan descended on Twitter to spread their hatred against Armenia.

One Islamist troll from Pakistan, expressing his support to Azerbaijan said Pakistan does not recognize Armenia as a state.
...
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Re: Central Asia - News & Discussions

Post by m_saini »

Seeing lots of videos of supposedly Azeri TB2 drones destroying Armenian positions/groupings. Looks like the ruskies want to teach the armenians some hard lessons before stepping in

https://twitter.com/Acemal71/status/1310182693301301248

Edit: Added a twitter link. Don't know how much of it is true and how much is turkish/azeri propaganda
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Re: Central Asia - News & Discussions

Post by Aditya_V »

This was the case in the initial days of Syrian conflict, tall claims now, but I think Armenia says it has the situation under control. I suspect Azerbaijan will downhill sky after casualties in a few days.
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Re: Central Asia - News & Discussions

Post by Manish_P »

darshan wrote:Not to worry for islamists. pukitbots are here.
Pakistani bots on Twitter vow to fight for Muslim majority Azerbaijan after clashes erupt with Armenia over border issue
https://www.opindia.com/2020/09/pakista ... t-armenia/
...
What about the rumours about actual uniformed jihadis present on the ground ?

Pakistani soldiers fighting alongside Azerbaijan troops
Pakistani soldiers are allegedly fighting alongside the Azerbaijan troops in Agdam, according to a telephonic conversation between two civilians, posted by Free News.AM.

The first civilian asked if shooting is taking place in another civilian's area.

To which the second civilian replied, "On Agdam's side. They have gathered Pakistani soldiers and have taken them towards Agdam."
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Re: Central Asia - News & Discussions

Post by Y. Kanan »

ricky_v wrote:https://eurasianet.org/fighting-between ... jan-widens
Those speculations have been heightened since 2018, when Armenia’s “Velvet Revolution” brought in a new government including many pro-Western and anti-Russia officials. Moscow’s concerns were exacerbated when the new authorities’ anti-corruption campaign took aim at Yuri Khachaturov, a former senior Armenian military officer who then became the CSTO’s secretary general. All that has raised questions about the extent to which Russia (which pulls the strings in the CSTO) will be interested in sticking its neck out should Armenia need meaningful support.
Oops. Now the Armenians are probably wishing they hadn't thrown the Russians out. The US and Israel are backing Azerbaijan, while Turkey is itself backed by NATO, so without the Russians, Armenia has no one to turn to. Nobody's going to help them.

Turkey is turning into quite the regional powerhouse.
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Re: Central Asia - News & Discussions

Post by chanakyaa »

Reality could be quite the opposite. Toorkey may be getting its a$$ kicked. All this revival of Ottoman empires glory days is a bunch of cr@p. The current coverage of the conflict could be an exercise in smoke and mirrors.

The conflict has its root in the good ole mideast politics of "oil and gas" -- Baku–Tbilisi–Ceyhan pipeline. Azeris (with Toorkey) may have decided that the Armenian control of Nagorno-Karabakh must be fixed for a long-term security of oil/gas.

Wiki article is fairly detailed and explains why YooS, YeeU, and Israel supports Azeri position. The pipeline is the only pipeline, other than the Rusky pipelines, to transport oil and gas to Europe. All parties, except Ruskies, have incentives to keep it secure and away from conflicts, and minimize dependence on Ruskies. Pipeline has been shutdown in the past due to Kurdish and Georgian crisis on several occasions. Same reasons why Ruskies are entrenched in Seereeya. Two umpires are still deciding most of the energy flows around the world. Very reason, Bakistan is kept alive (among many other reasons) to prevent any energy flow to India from CAR. Fortunately, access to ocean made this irrelevant to India, but I digress.

The pipeline passes outside of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict region. Maps are below. Some attacks in the region of Ganja over the past few days have been very close to the pipeline.
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict: Azerbaijan says Armenia targets second city of Ganja

Image

Image
AdityaM
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Re: Central Asia - News & Discussions

Post by AdityaM »

Who? What? Why?
Something unusual about this

https://www.aninews.in/news/national/ge ... 1129154110
IAF carries out special rescue mission to bring back Covid-19 positive scientists from Central Asia
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Re: Central Asia - News & Discussions

Post by bharathp »

AdityaM wrote:Who? What? Why?
Something unusual about this

https://www.aninews.in/news/national/ge ... 1129154110
IAF carries out special rescue mission to bring back Covid-19 positive scientists from Central Asia
interesting that they havent even named that "central asian country". and what our scientists are doing there.
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Re: Central Asia - News & Discussions

Post by sum »

ramana
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Re: Central Asia - News & Discussions

Post by ramana »

A good think tank founded by late K. Santhanam

http://theicaf.org/icaf/category/analysis/
ramana
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Re: Central Asia - News & Discussions

Post by ramana »

Interesting Wiki page. Do look at the references.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geostrate ... ntral_Asia
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Re: Central Asia - News & Discussions

Post by Rony »

The Taliban Takeover of Kabul and Implications for the India-Iran-Afghanistan-Uzbekistan Transit Corridor
Clearly, the Taliban, along with Pakistan, would prefer to undercut the Chabahar route in favor of the competing China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). Within the framework of CPEC, Beijing has already invested heavily in the Pakistani port of Gwadar, located some 100 kilometers to the east of Iran’s border with Pakistan. Therefore, keeping Chabahar economically viable has been a concern for India as it faces competition from China for influence in the region.

In such circumstances, it is likely that Turkmenistan will replace Afghanistan in the quadrilateral Chabahar port usage agreement. But this will require first resolving the Iranian-Turkmenistani disputes over natural gas and restrictions on Iranian trucks crossing the shared border (Iranian Labour News Agency, May 23). Some positive movement on this score has already been observed. On the sidelines of the latest (September 17, 2021) Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit, in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, Iranian president Ibrahim Raisi and his Turkmenistani counterpart, Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, notably agreed to resolve the bilateral gas dispute (Tasnim News, September 17). But it remains to be seen how quickly this agreeable rhetoric is turned into an actual policy shift. Such a shift must happen before the multi-modal transit route from India to Central Asia, via Iran’s Chabahar port, can fulfill its long-held economic and geopolitical promises.
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Re: Central Asia - News & Discussions

Post by ricky_v »

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-59880166
President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev called for support from the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) as nationwide unrest escalates.

The protests were first sparked by rising fuel prices, but have broadened to include other political grievances.

President Tokayev claimed the unrest was the work of foreign-trained "terrorist gangs".

However, Kate Mallinson, an expert on Central Asia at the foreign affairs think tank Chatham House in London, said the protests are "symptomatic of very deep-seated and simmering anger and resentment at the failure of the Kazhak government to modernise their country and introduce reforms that impact people at all levels".
Later on Wednesday the CSTO's chairman, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, confirmed in a statement on Facebook that the alliance would send peacekeeping forces "for a limited period of time".
Much of the anger on the streets, however, seems to have been aimed at his predecessor, Nursultan Nazarbayev, who has held a powerful national security role since stepping down. On Wednesday, he was fired in a bid to subdue the growing unrest.

Protesters had been heard chanting Mr Nazarbayev's name, while a video showing people attempting to pull down a giant bronze statue of the former leader has been shared online.
Protests erupted over LPG (Liquid Petroleum Gas) price hike initially
>Most major cities in the country are in open rebellion except the capital Nur-Sultan
>Administration of Aktobe bombed, multiple casualties
>Gun stores have been looted across the country.
>Protester interviewed by Western media on the cause of the protests "we want to live like in Sweden and Norway" https://t.me/ru2ch_news/28983
>Video of a soldier being killed by gunfire
>Almaty is in anarchy, government officials and soldiers appear to have fled the city. Reports of widespread looting and robberies across the city
>At least 8 police and National Guard dead, 300+ wounded
>President Tokayev in an address to the nation has announced that he has requested the CSTO (Russia's answer to NATO) to intervene in Kazakhstan
>Said the nation's military is fighting "terrorists" across the country
>Multiple reports of gun and ammo supply depots and gun stores having been robbed by the protesters/rebels/terrorists
>CSTO intervention imminent
>>Govt troops enter Almaty. HEAVY GUNFIGHTING HEARD ACROSS THE CITY
>Video shows morgues filled with dead bodies (https://mobile.twitter.com/ToyotaDshK/s ... 2306934788)
>Bitcoin collapses. Again.
>Reports of tanks(!) and APCs having been seized by the protesters
>the CSTO Collective Security Council has unilaterally agreed to deploy a "peacekeeping" force to Kazakhstan.

>Kazakhstan: 1st in uranium production (40.8% of world production), 12th place in oil, 8th in coal, 2nd in asbestos, 3rd in chromium, 10th in gold, 4th in titanium, Russia's buffer state from Muslim insanity in Central Asia, source of migrant labor and essential for Russian space operations
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Re: Central Asia - News & Discussions

Post by Dilbu »

Might be an effort to force Russia to take is eyes off Ukraine.
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Re: Central Asia - News & Discussions

Post by Ambar »

Absolutely orchestrated. Kazakhistan has been one of the more "peaceful" central asian countries and a close ally of Russia. This was a choreographed protest followed by large scale violence towards a regime change. Looks like for the time being Kazakh army and the Russian security forces have regained control. There were reports on Reddit that the Kazakh military publicly beheaded few rioters at the main plaza of the capital city.
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Re: Central Asia - News & Discussions

Post by srikandan »

Airport contracts for the taliban are being handed Qatar and Turkey. Qatar's presence implies US involvement -- Ilhan Omar was exposed as the US govt.'s liaison with Qatari intelligence (ImamTawhidi exposed all the evidence for this). Seems like the US is still involved without being present using its proxy Qatar to deal with the Taliban. Ilhan Omar is (with the willing cooperation of Biden and Co surely) passing bills about islamophobia exclusively targeting India.

India's recent overtures to CAR states (they are all invited to this years republic day celebrations) along with Russia, is almost immediately followed by an instant riot in Kazhakhstan today -- 'color revolutions' are clearly easier to orchestrate with social media apps. Russia and India's recent strategic partnership announced by the PM seems to be about increasing Russia/India's influence in CAR states, which will be resisted by China and USA who will fight to the last kazakh to keep Kazakhstan out of Russian orbit. Russia's resolve to wipe out these western collaborators is an effective way to quell these color revolution -- no mercy for enemies of the state. India is facing this same onslaught with even more rich and ruthless western collaborators -- handling such western collaborators/enemies of the state with kid gloves only seems to make them even more aggressive.
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Re: Central Asia - News & Discussions

Post by srikandan »

https://twitter.com/ClintEhrlich/status ... 4674612230

Massimov lead this colour revolution when he was passed over for top post in Kazakhsthan, and has been associated with the Bidens, another indicator on US-sponsored "color revolution" nature of this insta-riot in KZ.
Commenting on Russia's deployment of 3,000 troops to Kazakhstan, U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said:

"[O]ne lesson in recent history is that once Russians are in your house, it’s sometimes very difficult to get them to leave."
:rotfl: fine one to talk isn't he. Maybe he should check with the citizens of diego Garcia and Afghanisthan about what happens when the US in their house.

Ex-president Nazarbayev came to power after the fall of Russia and as a dictator he tried to stay independent, and his "security czar" massimov was being primed to take over, but Nazarbayev did not trust his security chief to take over and installed the current president, who seems to have a mind of his own. Massimov's attempt to swing KZ towards the western axis this week failed. India has been making the mistake of working with central asian states under the aegis of the UN, which is a hostile organization as far as India's interests are concerned.

https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/ne ... 004620.cms

Time to just work outside the UN and bilaterally and make the UN toothless to inconvenience India in the future by working outside the US and stopping the cretinous nonsense about requiring a "global consensus" for india's actions (as in UN approval, when the UN has been working against India since COVID started and has been actively screwing with India's COVID fight). If this lesson has not been learnt by now, blame falls squarely on the MEA when the UN screws India next --- it is just a matter of time as we saw with the UNSC climate change vote recently. From the looks of it, India is still hiding behind "UN consensus" to get in involved in Central Asia, when this same "UN consensus" kept India out of Afghanisthan for decades.

https://indianexpress.com/article/world ... n-7708965/
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Re: Central Asia - News & Discussions

Post by Ambar »

Yup, uncle Massimov and his son were close to few anti-Russian oligarchs and the power corridors in the US . Here's an undated pic of Hunter Biden, Big daddy Biden, Massimov and a kazakh oil and gas oligarch.

Image

That said, i do wonder how long before China pushes its tentacles deeper into a resource rich Kazakhistan and takes over a part of it and renames it the way they did with "inner mongolia".
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Re: Central Asia - News & Discussions

Post by srikandan »

https://www.eurasian-research.org/publi ... as-sector/

https://www.gem.wiki/Kazakhstan-China_Pipeline

China is building an oil pipeline so it is already present in KZ -- Russia and China's interests converge in keeping KZ under their orbit. US/NATO will have to work hard to keep a conflict burning in KZ like they did in Georgia and Ukraine.
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Re: Central Asia - News & Discussions

Post by Cyrano »

Does India still get a lot of U235 from Kz ?
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Re: Central Asia - News & Discussions

Post by srikandan »

https://www.wise-uranium.org/upkz.html

KZ did a one-time supply in 2014 to India (above link) but India does not mine Uranium in KZ, unlike China and Czech republic.
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Re: Central Asia - News & Discussions

Post by Dilbu »

Kazakhstan unrest matters to India. Afghanistan at stake
Kazakhstan accounts for roughly 40 percent of global uranium supplies and contains roughly 30 billion barrels (3 percent) of global oil reserves. In the wake of protests, uranium prices rose by roughly 8 percent over the day on 7 January, increasing from US $42 dollars to US $45.25 per pound. Similarly, oil prices also increased about 2 percent on January 6, before settling slightly lower the next day. The continually destabilsing situation would largely affect supplies and prices, also prompting import-dependent countries to look for alternate suppliers of these fossil fuels.

Unlike most other countries, Russia also has additional stakes in the situation as it shares a 7,600-kilometre-long border with Kazakhstan, which has virtually no border control since both countries are members of the Eurasian Economic Union. Therefore, in case the unrest bolsters any kind of regime change in the country, it could easily impact relations with Russia. Nationalists coming to power could see discrimination growing against the 3.5 million strong Russian minority in Kazakhstan, which comprises 20 percent of the population. If radical elements capture power, Russia would be scrambling to ensure that it doesn’t spill across the border.

These concerns probably explain the alacrity with which the CSTO responded to Tokayev’s request for forces to stabilise the situation. The presence of CSTO troops in Kazakhstan will also probably significantly impact Kazakhstan’s till now multi-vector foreign policy.
Recognising its strategic importance, in the last few years, India has been trying to lay more emphasis on building a robust relationship with Central Asia through bilateral dialogues and exchanges, exchange of high-level visits, extension of credit etc. In a first, Presidents of all the Central Asian Republics are also expected to visit India as Chief Guests for the Republic Day Parade on 26 January 2022. But, with the chaotic political situation in the country, it is unclear whether the Kazakh President would be able to join.

Furthermore, under normal circumstances, India would not have any direct stakes in this situation. However, in cognizance of recent geopolitical developments which could render India’s strategic relations with Central Asia extremely crucial to responding to the Afghan situation, India would consider any instability in Central Asia as unfavourable. The only silver lining for India in the situation in Kazakhstan is that it will possibly complicate China’s plans for Central Asia.
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Re: Central Asia - News & Discussions

Post by srikandan »

https://indianexpress.com/article/world ... s-7729350/

Western stooge Poroshenko being installed, so that he can wage war against Russia under the able guidance of Biden and Co.
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Re: Central Asia - News & Discussions

Post by Aldonkar »

srikandan wrote:https://indianexpress.com/article/world ... s-7729350/

Western stooge Poroshenko being installed, so that he can wage war against Russia under the able guidance of Biden and Co.
Ukraine is not in Central Asia! Having said that, both sides are pushing their favourites in E. Europe and Central Asia.
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Re: Central Asia - News & Discussions

Post by srikandan »

Ukraine is not in Central Asia! Having said that, both sides are pusing their favourites in E. Europe and Central Asia.
yes. But KZ and UK are both pressure points against Russia and being used as such. Keeping the news in the same place to see how events in these two places affect each other. Yeah, we all know people are pushing for influence all over not just C.Asia but all over, but the interesting part is who is pushing conflict for what reasons.
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Re: Central Asia - News & Discussions

Post by ricky_v »

https://euroweeklynews.com/2022/09/16/b ... an-border/
Image
It has been reported this evening, Friday, September 16, that around 50,000 troops have been deployed to the Armenian border by Iran. This comes as a direct result of the recent attacks by Azerbaijan on the small state of Armenia. There are also as yet unconfirmed reports on social media sites of Turkey dispatching 45,000 reservists to the same border areas.
Unconfirmed reports claim that two regiments of Iran‘s army have already gone to the aid of Armenia and are fighting with Azerbaijani forces. It is also claimed that a large number of Azerbaijani soldiers have subsequently been killed.

Mohammad Pakpour, the commander of the IRGC ground forces, today, Friday, September 16, reportedly visited the units located on the border of Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Nakhichevan. He stated that their readiness level is very high, according to Iranian media reports.
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Re: Central Asia - News & Discussions

Post by ramana »

Backgrounder on Israel Azerbaijan ties.

https://www.meforum.org/987/israel-and- ... ve-embrace
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Re: Central Asia - News & Discussions

Post by ramana »

If Israel is on Azerbaijan side Iran will side with Armenia.
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Re: Central Asia - News & Discussions

Post by ricky_v »

https://www.geopoliticalmonitor.com/uzb ... tral-asia/
Second, France is keen on intensifying cooperation with Central Asian countries, especially with Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, to diversify its sources of energy. Recent disruptions in global energy markets, along with political tensions, have underscored the need for France to diversify its energy sources. Central Asia, with its untapped hydrocarbon reserves, offers a promising solution. Notably, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan have significant uranium reserves, with Kazakhstan being the world’s largest producer and Uzbekistan the fifth largest. Given that approximately 70 percent of France’s electricity comes from nuclear power, deepening partnerships in the region could ensure a steady supply of uranium for French reactors.

Third, France aims to enhance cooperation with Central Asia countries to reduce risks associated with the import of critical minerals, vital for the green energy transition. These minerals are essential in the production of a wide range of technologies, from smartphones and wind turbines to rechargeable batteries for electric vehicles. Despite being relatively underexplored, Uzbekistan and other Central Asian countries are rich in rare earth metals and have the potential for assisting France and other EU member states at large in reducing their heavy dependence on China for these essential minerals, thereby mitigating the risks associated with their technological advancement.

Despite all these positive rationales, there is a persistent challenge hindering enhanced cooperation between the two countries. This is the limited capacity of the Trans-Caspian Transport Route, also known as the “Middle Corridor,” which links China and Central Asia via the Caspian Sea to the Caucasus, Turkey, and Europe. In 2022, transit volumes through the Middle Corridor witnessed an impressive surge, nearly tripling compared to the previous year. This spike in trade activity has placed considerable strain on already overburdened borders, resulting in visible delays in cross-border transport operations. To address these challenges, France should collaborate closely with not only with Central Asian nations but also EU member states to foster the development and prominence of the Middle Corridor. If achieved, it would reduce transit times from 38-53 days in the previous year to just 12-23 days. This would not only provide Europe with alternative optimal trade routes but also encourage the active participation of Central Asian nations in global connectivity and collaboration.
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Re: Central Asia - News & Discussions

Post by ricky_v »

https://en.armradio.am/2023/12/11/armen ... ith-india/
The Armenian National Assembly voted unanimously to ratify the agreement on Cooperation and Mutual Assistance between the Governments of Armenia and India, Deputy Speaker of Parliament Hakob Arshakyan informs.

He called it an important step towards the the implementation of the “Crossroads of Peace” project.

“The National Assembly is also taking steps towards the development of parliamentary relations between Armenia and India,” the lawmaker said.
https://arka.am/en/news/business/armeni ... nce_in_cu/
The agreement was signed on June 23, 2023 in Brussels. It calls for provision of mutual administrative assistance in matters related to customs affairs, as well as for establishing procedures for exchange of information for this purpose.

In addition, direct communication will be established between the relevant agencies of the two countries, which is expected to have a positive impact on the detection of violation of customs rules in the import and export of goods between India and Armenia.

According to the agreement, this information will not be transferred to third countries under any circumstances
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