Author: Yevgeniya Mikhailidi

As the European Union reels from a U.S. trade assault – 20% tariffs on its exports, denounced by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen as a “major blow” to the world economy – Brussels is turning eastward. At the first-ever EU-Central Asia summit last week, von der Leyen announced a 12 billion euro ($13.17 billion) investment package to transform the region into a lifeline for Europe’s energy, tech and transport sectors. “We are expanding our cooperation like never before,” she declared. The timing is no coincidence. For Europe, the tariffs feel like betrayal. After decades of NATO solidarity, the…

Donald Trump is back in the White House, stirring excitement in Washington. In Central Asia, however, the response is muted. For leaders from Kazakhstan to Uzbekistan, there’s little reason to think that Trump’s “America First” doctrine will bring renewed attention their way. This region, once a vital cog in America’s war on terror, now watches as power and attention shift elsewhere. Bruce Pannier, an American journalist who has long covered the region, puts it plainly: “I think Central Asia will almost disappear from the U.S. foreign policy radar. Trump wasn’t very interested in Central Asia when he was president and…