Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has challenged Central Asian leaders to put aside concerns of angering Russia, which considers the region part of its sphere of influence, and attend a summit in Switzerland next month aimed at achieving peace in Ukraine, RFE/RL’s Kyrgyz Service reported. Speaking to Central Asian journalists during a visit on May 24 to
On May 23, Kazakhstan President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev arrived in Singapore on a state visit. During his meeting with Singaporean President Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Tokayev described Singapore as a time-tested and reliable partner of Astana. Currently, over 140 Singaporean companies and joint ventures operate in Kazakhstan, with total Singaporean investments in the Kazakh economy exceeding $1.7 billion.
The 20th anniversary meeting of the Kazakh-German Intergovernmental Commission for the Affairs of Ethnic Germans in Kazakhstan was held on May 21 in Astana in order to strengthen cultural and humanitarian cooperation between Kazakhstan and Germany and discuss the affairs of the German ethnic group, Kazakhstan’s Foreign Ministry reported. Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of
On May 20-21, Astana hosted a regular meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Foreign Ministers Council, chaired by Deputy Prime Minister – Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan Murat Nurtleu. The meeting began with a minute of silence in honor of the Iranian President and Foreign Minister who died in a plane crash. The
The Kyrgyz government said 29 people were injured, including three foreigners, in mob violence in Bishkek on the night of May 17-18 that appeared to be directed against foreign students and migrants, RFE/RL’s Kyrgyz Service reported. The violence prompted diplomatic reactions from Pakistan and India, who warned their students in Bishkek to remain indoors. The
Alisher Kadyrov, the leader of the National Revival party and vice-speaker of the Legislative Chamber of the Uzbek parliament, has proposed that those who do not know the Uzbek language should not work in the civil service and should not be able to use government services in Uzbekistan, Radio Ozodlik reported. Kadyrov made such comments
On May 16 in Astana, Kazakhstan President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev met with secretaries of the Security Councils of the five Central Asian countries. The Kazakh president noted that the meeting was an important stage in the preparation for the Sixth Consultative Meeting of the Heads of State of Central Asia, which will be held in Astana
On May 14, the Joint Conference of Turkmenistan and the European Union, entitled “30 years of cooperation between Turkmenistan and the European Union: working together for a better future,” was held at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan. The event was attended by representatives of ministries, state agencies and public organizations of Turkmenistan, the
A Kyrgyz court on May 14 sentenced government critic and journalist Oljobai Shakir (aka Egemberdiev) to five years in prison on a charge of making calls online for mass unrest, RFE/RL’s Kyrgyz Service reported. Shakir rejected the charge, calling it ungrounded. Shakir was arrested in August 2023, days after he criticized the government’s decision to
The 16th Senior Officials Meeting of the Central Asia + Japan Dialogue took place on May 14 in Astana under the chairmanship of Nazira Nurbaeva, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan. The meeting was attended by the heads of the foreign ministries of Japan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and the Ambassador of Turkmenistan to Kazakhstan.
On May 14, a high-level delegation from the Government of Switzerland will arrive in Bishkek to strengthen cooperation ties with the Kyrgyz Republic and familiarize with the results of the Swiss funded projects implemented in Kyrgyzstan, the Swiss Embassy in Bishkek announced. The delegation will be composed of Ambassador Mr. Arno Wicki, Assistant Director General of
The First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan Kairat Umarov visited Brazil last week for political consultations. At the meeting with the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Brazil, Eduardo Paes Saboia, the parties discussed current aspects of bilateral relations, the global agenda, as well as multilateral interaction on issues of mutual support for
Artificial intelligence (AI) was behind deepfakes, originated in China, about the existence of US laboratories allegedly developing biological weapons in Kazakhstan. Reuters reported citing the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) 2024 homeland threat assessment that last year, a Chinese government-controlled news site using a generative AI platform pushed a previously circulated false claim that
Armenia said on May 8 that it has stopped making financial contributions to the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) after effectively suspending its membership in the Russian-led military alliance, RFE/RL’s Armenian Service reported. “Armenia will refrain from signing up to the November 23, 2023, decision on the CSTO budget for 2024 and, thereby, from participating
In 2024, the Delegation of the European Union to Uzbekistan commemorates Europe Day and 30 years of partnership between the European Union and Uzbekistan. To mark this significant milestone, a public festival and concert celebrating “30 Years of European Union – Uzbekistan Partnership” will take place on 18 May at the Tashkent Botanical Garden, the EU
All five Central Asian presidents are scheduled to attend a parade on Red Square in Moscow on May 9 to commemorate the victory in the Second World War in 1945, RFE/RL’s Kazakh Service reported. Yury Ushakov, an aide to Russian President Vladimir Putin, on May 7 said Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, Tajik President
The Supreme Court of Uzbekistan has exonerated posthumously 198 individuals convicted by the Soviet regime in the 1920s-1930s for “counter-revolutionary actions, armed uprisings, terrorism, banditry and espionage, and anti-Soviet activities,” RFE/RL’s Uzbek Service reported. The Supreme Court announced on May 6 its decision to exonerate the men, many of whom were sentenced to death and others who were
Amid Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine and geopolitical confrontation with the West, the Kremlin is taking efforts to strengthen its influence in Kazakhstan, Moldova, other countries of Central Asia, and in the South Caucasus. For this purpose, Russia has launched information campaigns using various news agencies and Internet platforms to disseminate Moscow’s narrative in
Kyrgyzstan has advised its citizens to refrain from traveling to Russia in the face of rising scrutiny of Central Asians in the country following the deadly Crocus City Hall attack near Moscow in late March, RFE/RL’s Kyrgyz Service reported. The Kyrgyz Foreign Ministry issued the travel advisory on May 2, warning Kyrgyz citizens of intensified checks and controls at
Regional officials and employees of local state entities in Turkmenistan’s western region of Balkan have been forced to buy watches with pictures of President Serdar Berdymukhammedov and his father and predecessor, Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov, on the face of the timepiece, RFE/RL’s Turkmen Service reported. The watches cost between 1,500 and 3,000 manats ($410-$820). Those of higher
