Bruce Pannier

[upbeat music] This is Spotlight on Central Asia, your source for the biggest geopolitical stories from across Central Asia.

I'm your host, Bruce Pannier.

And I'm your host, Michael Hilliard.

And this week we'll be taking a look at the CSTO making a series of major pledges and announcements in response to the growing instability in northern Afghanistan, one of Central Asia's largest militaries publicly showcasing its new Chinese fighter jets for the first time, Uzbekistan signing a major new energy deal with a partner on the Caspian, and a whole bunch of new significant powers being handed to a key figure of the Uzbek administration.

[upbeat music] This is Spotlight on Central Asia, your source for the biggest geopolitical stories from across Central Asia.

I'm your host, Bruce Pannier.

And I'm your host, Michael Hilliard.

And it's absolutely great to be back, 'cause there's been an enormous amount of news unfolding in the region, meaning that this week we'll be covering a whole bunch of big stories, including one of Central Asia's leaders openly calling on Putin to bring an end to the war in Ukraine, Russia moving to tear up some of its military agreements with two of the Central Asian states, this week's upcoming election in Kazakhstan, as well as the announcement and dates for Kyrgyzstan's next presidential election, before then turning to take a look at the continuing crackdown on opposition journalism in Kazakhstan, and examining the growing wave of fighting in northern Afghanistan.