George Osborne, Britain’s Secretary of State and Chancellor Exchequer, made several announcements on investment in Iran and Xinjiang region of China. Osborne pledged to lead a trade delegation to Iran next year if the Islamic Republic honors its nuclear deal in the wake of its embassy reopening. Additionally, Osborne on Tuesday embarked on a trade…
We recently had the opportunity to sit down with Dr. Sebastien Peyrouse, Research Professor of International Affairs at the Elliott School of International Affairs, George Washington University. Dr. Peyrouse is an Associated Scholar with the Institute for International and Strategic Relations in Paris, France and has published widely on Central Asia, with an emphasis on Turkmenistan. He…
Iranian citizens are refusing to spend much money these days, in anticipation of imminent sanctions relief that will spur a decrease in domestic prices. Ironically, this is the opposite effect on the economy that everyone had anticipated for Iran, at least in the short term. In particular, the automotive sector has seen far less purchasing…
Opposition party candidates, hoping to finally secure seats in the Russian Duma later next month, were met with complete failure after regional elections showed that the ruling United Russia party won every regional poll across the country. Other mainstream Russian parties like the Communist party, Liberal Democratic Party, and a Just Russia also made a…
Kazakhstan’s Central Bank just sold another $144 million in dollars from its reserves attempting to stabilize the tenge, blaming the 1.2% daily decline on the actions of “speculators.” Central Bank governor Kairat Kelimbetov allowed on August 20 of last month for the currency to float freely after the Chinese Central Bank allowed the yuan to…
Foreign Ministers from Germany, France, Russia, and Ukraine agreed on Saturday on steps to bring more stability to war-torn eastern Ukraine. Specifically, the provision to remove heavy weapons from the front lines has been discussed, with German FM Steinmeier stating that “I can tell you with relief that our meeting today has been one of…
Turkmenistan has long been known for its rich energy reserves and as a result, has maintained the popularity of its various despotic regimes by providing free public utilities to its citizenry. The government announced today that it will scrap the free provision of electricity, household gas, and water as the economy shows signs of reduced…
Some eight policemen and two assailants have been killed in separate attacks around Dushanbe today, in what is being described as a terrorist attack. This has prompted the US Embassy to close and has sparked fears that this is the beginning of larger scale civil unrest. President Emmomali Rahmon responded to the crisis by abruptly…
The European Union noted that it will be rolling over the sanctions on some 200 Russian and Ukrainian separatist individuals to maintain pressure on Moscow for the full implementation of the Minsk II Accords of February 2015 by the end of the year. The decision will apparently be signed on during a meeting in mid-September,…
A controversial vote was passed in Kiev’s Parliament over the weekend, granting more autonomy to separatist regions in the east of the country, as per the agreement outlined in the Minsk II accords this past February. This did not stop pro-Ukrainian protesters from rioting after the vote was announced, killing one police officer and injuring…
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