Yesterday foreign ministers of the Caspian countries – Russia, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, and Iran – met in Moscow to prepare for the 4th summit of Caspian states in September. The legal status of the Caspian Sea with its rich reserves of petroleum and natural gas is up for debate. With few borders for maritime territories…

The Toktogul hydroelectric power plant in Kyrgyzstan has reported low water levels. The plant is one of the largest in Central Asia and currently dams the Naryn River, and is part of the Naryn-Sry Darya cascade. Generating over 1,200 MW of power a day, it is the largest power plant in Kyrgyzstan and is one…

Iran is moving faster than expected to comply with the November nuclear deal, the IAEA reported yesterday. Iran has apparently diluted half of its stockpile of 20 percent enriched uranium to lower levels. If true, the report means that Iran has cut 75% of its stockpile since January, when it stood at just above 200 kilograms.…

As Russian forces move into Donetsk, policy makers around the world have wondered what the crisis will mean for the future of East-West relations. The rhetoric between the West and Russia has completely deteriorated to near-Cold War levels, with White House Press Secretary Jay Carney giving his vocal support to Ukrainian military action against pro-Russian…

As the Russian euphoria from reclaiming Crimea begins to ease, new tensions are emerging. Crimea, for all its historical significance to the borders of old Russian empires, will require a great deal of funds to prop up, according to the Washington Post. The Russian economy is not doing well, with  capital flight rising to nearly…

Conflicting reports place either Abdullah Abdullah or Ashraf Ghani taking the lead in the historic Afghan elections. The early results have prompted claims of fraud by opponents, although the wait for the official end of the vote-counting period on April 24 means accurate predictions and results are still far off. With the field packed with…

Recent weeks have seen decreased hopes that the Kashagan oil field will begin producing in the near future. Sources close to the project stated today that the supergiant will be shut down for at least two years waiting for the construction of specialty pipelines that can accommodate toxic H2S fumes and associated corrosion. This is…

The long-awaited Afghan presidential election occurs tomorrow, April 5. Violence has been steadily increasing since the beginning of campaign season in January, with two AP journalists shot yesterday in Khost. Eastern Afghanistan has seen the largest spike in campaign-related violence, especially with the continued presence of the Tehrik-i-Taliban (benefitting from their temporary cease-fire with Islamabad…

Ashraf Ghani and Zalmay Rassoul have emerged as the new frontrunners only days before the Afghan elections takes place on April 5, according to polls released on Monday. They are notably the only ethnically pure Pashtun candidates (other than the half-Tajik, half-Pashtun Dr. Abdullah Abdullah). 42% of Afghanistan is ethnically Pashtun, with other significant groups…

Pipelines passing through Ukraine to markets in Europe are in danger of being disrupted by the annexation of Crimea. Russia’s Gazprom raised prices on natural gas entering Ukraine from Russia by 37% in the past month, putting pressure on the EU to back off. Kazakhstan, whose economy is almost entirely dependent on the export of…