Eurasia’s Shifting Balance of Influence: An Opening for the United States?

[on-hold music] Eurasia's Shifting Balance of Influence: An Opening for the United States, by CSIS' Tina Dolbeya and Leah Keefe, published June twelfth, twenty twenty-six.

This audio was generated with text-to-speech by Eleven Labs.

Please note that this publication contains visual analysis.

To view the full analysis, read the publication at csis.org. Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine has significantly altered the strategic landscape across Eurasia.

The Kremlin's resources have been stretched thin, weakening its grip over the countries in Central Asia and the South Caucasus.

Simultaneously, the ongoing conflict in the Middle East has destabilized another anti-Western actor in the region, Iran.

These developments have created greater space for the United States to engage more deeply with the region.

Washington has already begun to capitalize on this opening in several ways.

In twenty twenty-five, President Trump hosted a summit with Central Asian heads of state at the White House, unveiling multi-billion dollar trade and mineral deals.

He also met with the Azerbaijani and Armenian presidents that year, announcing an agreement to establish a trade and transit corridor, later named The Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity, TRIP, intended to help resolve the decades-long conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh by promoting trade and connectivity between the two nations.

While Washington's recent advances are notable, Moscow and Tehran's current distractions have also provided more opportunities for other interested actors to expand their footprint in the region.

This commentary examines the intensifying competition for Eurasian influence following Russia's two thousand twenty-two invasion of Ukraine and the conflict involving Iran and discusses how the United States can build on its momentum to consolidate a more durable position in the region.

With trade routes bypassing Russia and Iran and vast critical mineral wealth at stake, Eurasia is an increasingly important region for engagement.

Washington must seize the current opening for strategic realignment in Eurasia before other actors fill the vacuum and crowd the United States out from a more serious strategic role in the region.