Post-Soviet Turkmenistan: A Little-Known Present and an Uncertain Future

... Turkmenistan may be forced to abandon its neutral status. Turkmenistan tries to minimize contact with other external players and will try to continue this policy for as long as possible. The best-case scenario involves mitigating regional risks in Central Asia, Afghanistan and the Middle East. This would create a favourable environment in which to reduce risks within Turkmenistan as well as the construction of the TAPI pipeline. This scenario would also entail deescalating the confrontation between Russia and the West, as well as the standoff between Iran and the West. This would create the right conditions to build the Trans-Caspian Gas Pipeline. In this case,...