Central Asia-Caucasus Institute and Silk Road Studies Program

Armenia is strengthening ties with the European Union, but full membership remains a distant prospect. Here are our key takeaways:

• Armenia expanded cooperation with the EU at the recent Armenia–EU Summit, but did not pursue accession talks.

• The government continues balancing closer European ties with its economic and security relationship with Russia.

• Geopolitical and economic constraints make EU membership unlikely in the foreseeable future.

• For now, Yerevan’s strategy is deeper EU cooperation without a major shift in its regional alignment.

Read the original article by Suren Sargsyan here: https://www.cacianalyst.org/publications/analytical-articles/item/13966-the-eu-armenia-summit-and-armenias-european-aspirations.html

✨ What made the Timurid era one of the greatest eras of extraordinary cultural achievement in history?

In this fascinating article, Dr. S. Frederick Starr argues that Timurid achievements in art, architecture, literature, science and education cannot be understood in isolation. A must-read for anyone interested in Central Asian history or the forces that drive cultural innovation.

Read here: https://open.substack.com/pub/centralasiacaucasusinstitute/p/notes-on-the-context-of-timurid-culture?r=4ja9wc&utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=post%20viewer

Notes on the Context of Timurid Culture By S. Frederick Starr

Pakistan and Iran are expanding regional connectivity through new overland trade routes. Here are our key takeaways:

• Six new road corridors now link Pakistan’s ports to Iran, creating new pathways for trade with Central Asia.

• The routes offer Central Asian countries an alternative to traditional transit corridors and improve access to global markets.

• The initiative strengthens Pakistan-Iran economic ties while increasing the strategic importance of Gwadar and other Pakistani ports.

• If successful, the corridors could reshape regional trade patterns and reduce transportation costs across Eurasia.

Read Sudha Ramachandran's piece here: https://www.cacianalyst.org/publications/analytical-articles/item/13964-new-pakistan-iran-road-routes-and-central-asian-trade.html

Armenia is trying to break Russia’s decades-long grip over its critical infrastructure. Here are our key takeaways:

• Since 2008, Armenia’s railway system has been controlled by a Russian state-owned company under a concession agreement lasting until 2048.

• PM Nikol Pashinyan is now exploring alternatives, including potential involvement from countries like Kazakhstan, Qatar, and the UAE, to reduce Russian monopoly power.

• New regional railway projects tied to post-2020 peace agreements could reconnect Armenia to Azerbaijan, Turkey, and broader trade corridors. But Russia is still trying to maintain influence over these routes.

• The June 7, 2026, parliamentary elections may determine Armenia’s geopolitical future... A return to Russian alignment or a continued shift toward closer ties with the West.

Read the original article by Vali Kaleji: https://www.cacianalyst.org/publications/analytical-articles/item/13963-armenia-seeks-to-reduce-russias-monopoly-on-railway-infrastructure.html

🚨 Read the latest from CACI Analyst on our website or through our Substack! 🚨

In the article, authors Masom Jan Masomy and Eldaniz Gusseinov discuss how China is testing its role as a global stabilizer in the Afghan-Pakistan conflict.

In the article, they argue that among external stakeholders, China bears the heaviest cost from the ongoing Afghanistan-Pakistan tensions along the Durand Line. The conflict erodes Beijing’s credibility as a regional mediator on the dispute-resolution front, even as its short-term containment record remains defensible. Both Afghanistan and Pakistan continue to depend on Chinese economic engagement, and both are seeking to expand investment flows from Beijing. China has hosted at least seven formal rounds of the China-Afghanistan-Pakistan Foreign Ministers’ Dialogue, its primary platform for structured mediation between the two countries and has intervened repeatedly with emergency shuttle diplomacy during acute crises, most recently during the open military confrontation.

Read the full piece here: https://www.cacianalyst.org/publications/analytical-articles/item/13962-china-tests-its-global-stabilizer-role-in-the-afghan-pakistan-conflict.html

You can subscribe to our Substack here: https://substack.com/

🚨 Read the latest from CACI Analyst on our website or through our Substack! 🚨

In the article, author Anatoly Motkin discusses China's quiet digital conquest of Central Asia.

In late April 2026, Tencent - the Chinese technology conglomerate behind WeChat - completed the acquisition of a 3.2 percent stake in Kaspi.kz, Kazakhstan’s dominant super app, at approximately US$ 518 million. Just months earlier, Tencent led a financing round in Uzum, Uzbekistan’s first tech unicorn, lifting the startup’s valuation to US$ 1.5 billion and opening the door for the Chinese giant to enter Central Asia’s digital economy. Taken together, Motkin argues, these two moves constitute something far more consequential than routine investment decisions. They represent the arrival of Chinese digital power at the heart of post-Soviet Eurasia and Washington has yet to formulate a coherent response.

Read the full piece here: https://www.cacianalyst.org/publications/analytical-articles/item/13961-chinas-quiet-digital-conquest-of-central-asia.html

You can subscribe to our Substack here: https://substack.com/

🚨 Read the latest from CACI Analyst on our website or through our Substack! 🚨

In the article, author Syed Fazl-e-Haider discusses India and Pakistan in the race for influence in Central Asia.

He argues that a recent succession of visits by Central Asian leaders to Islamabad over the past four months has drawn attention in New Delhi. In response, India has intensified its diplomatic engagement with the Central Asian Republics (CARs) to counter Pakistan’s expanding regional influence. Indian officials have conducted discussions with counterparts from Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan to strengthen economic ties. Concurrently, Pakistan has undertaken a significant policy shift by activating alternative trade corridors through China and Iran, reducing its reliance on routes via Afghanistan to access Central Asia. Despite this strategic rivalry, certain connectivity initiatives reveal areas of convergence and potential cooperation between India and Pakistan.

Read the full piece here: https://www.cacianalyst.org/publications/analytical-articles/item/13960-india-vs-pakistan-in-the-race-for-influence-in-central-asia.html

You can subscribe to our Substack here: https://lnkd.in/gBP3Q_-z

India vs Pakistan in the Race for Influence in Central Asia By Syed Fazl-e-Haider  A recent succession of&nbs...

🚨 Read the latest from CACI Analyst on our website or through our Substack! 🚨

In the article, authors Giorgi Gvalia and Ivane Lomidze discuss Georgia's shifting strategic outlook and its limits.

They argue that Georgia’s foreign policy thinking is currently undergoing a notable shift. For much of the past two decades, the country’s strategic discourse was framed by democratic alignment and Euro-Atlantic integration. Today, however, the rhetoric of the ruling elite increasingly reflects a geopolitical logic, emphasizing survival, insecurity, and strategic calculation over value-based commitments. This shift is understandable for a small state operating in a highly vulnerable security environment. Yet the emerging approach also reveals an important limitation. While focused on avoiding risks vis-à-vis Russia, Georgia’s leadership gives insufficient attention to the equally important need to preserve and balance relations with Western partners that remain essential to Georgia’s long-term security, prosperity, and independence.

Read the full piece here: https://www.cacianalyst.org/publications/analytical-articles/item/13959-georgias-shifting-strategic-outlook-and-its-limits.html

You can subscribe to our Substack here: https://substack.com/

Georgia's Shifting Strategic Outlook and its Limits By Giorgi Gvalia and Ivane Lomidze Georgia’s foreign policy th...

🚨 Read the latest from CACI Analyst on our website or through our Substack! 🚨

In the article, author Aigerim Turgunbaeva discusses "The End of Tandem: Power Consolidation and Emerging Risks in Kyrgyzstan."

On February 10, 2026, President Sadyr Japarov abruptly dismissed his longtime ally and security chief Kamchybek Tashiev while the latter was undergoing medical treatment in Munich, Germany. At the time, the move appeared sudden but limited in scope. Two months on, it has become clear that this decision marked the beginning of a far more consequential transformation. On April 29, formal charges including high treason were brought against Tashiev, effectively sealing the end of the informal tandem that had defined Kyrgyz politics for over five years.

What followed was not merely a leadership reshuffle, but the systematic dismantling of the informal tandem that had structured Kyrgyzstan’s political system since the 2020 upheaval. The trigger appears to have been a petition signed by 75 public figures on February 9 calling for early presidential elections. Within days, key elements of Tashiev’s institutional base were reconfigured; within weeks, his network came under sustained pressure; and by early April, the arrest of his brother Shairbek Tashiev on corruption charges underscored the depth of the ongoing purge.

Read the full piece here: https://www.cacianalyst.org/publications/analytical-articles/item/13958-the-end-of-tandem-power-consolidation-and-emerging-risks-in-kyrgyzstan.html

You can subscribe to our Substack here: https://substack.com/

From Tehran’s perspective, TRIPP may constitute a legitimate target, as it conflicts directly with Iranian interests. It is therefore essential to assess the risks that the Iran–U.S./Israel conflict poses to the TRIPP project.

Read more here: https://www.cacianalyst.org/publications/analytical-articles/item/13955-tripps-future-in-the-context-of-the-us-iran-war.html