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Catherine Putz

Catherine Putz

The Diplomat

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2nd Central Asia-China Summit Set for June 17

Chinese leader Xi Jinping and the five Central Asian presidents are expected to all attend the summit in Astana.

12.06.2025 10

The Diplomat

Catherine Putz

Turkmen Authorities Comment on Partial US Travel Ban

Turkmen Authorities Comment on Partial US Travel Ban

Turkmenistan's Foreign Ministry called the decision to partially ban arrivals from the country a "hasty step."

11.06.2025 10

The Diplomat

Catherine Putz

Kyrgyzstan’s Second City Osh Takes Down Lenin Statue

Kyrgyzstan’s Second City Osh Takes Down Lenin Statue

Local authorities say the statue, Central Asia's largest Lenin monument, will be moved into a nearby park.

10.06.2025 4

The Diplomat

Catherine Putz

Why Is Turkmenistan Subject to a Partial US Travel Ban?

Why Is Turkmenistan Subject to a Partial US Travel Ban?

The stated reason is a high rate of visa overstays in 2023 DHS data. But that data has been interpreted without any context or compassion.

06.06.2025 10

The Diplomat

Catherine Putz

Uzbek Migration Agency Makes Headway in East Asia

Uzbek Migration Agency Makes Headway in East Asia

A delegation from Uzbekistan, led by the country’s Migration Agency, made stops in South Korea and Japan to explore expanded opportunities for Uzbek...

04.06.2025 10

The Diplomat

Catherine Putz

Former Kyrgyz President Atambayev Sentenced in Absentia to 11 Years

Atambayev was released from jail in 2023 and promptly flew to Spain. He hasn't returned to Kyrgyzstan since.

04.06.2025 50

The Diplomat

Catherine Putz

Uzbek Human Rights Defender Prevented From Traveling to Receive Award

When Sharifa Madrakhimova received her passport via mail from Dublin, with her Irish visa affixed inside, the document had been rendered invalid by...

03.06.2025 10

The Diplomat

Catherine Putz

Why Did the Mayor of Dushanbe Meet With Russian President Putin?

Rustam Emomali is also the chair of Tajikistan’s National Assembly and the son of the country's president. His recent trip to Moscow is stirring...

31.05.2025 4

The Diplomat

Catherine Putz

As Kloop Journalists Are Detained, a Familiar Refrain: Suspicion of ‘Calling for Mass Riots’

The head of the Kyrgyz presidential press service aired an unfounded allegation on Facebook that the detained journalists were being paid by Bolot...

30.05.2025 6

The Diplomat

Catherine Putz

In Kyrgyzstan, Kloop Journalists Taken For Questioning

According to Kloop, its employees have been denied access to lawyers.

29.05.2025 10

The Diplomat

Catherine Putz

Uzbekistan Seeks to Increase Tourist Flows, Floats Possibility of Visa-Free Regime for US Citizens

A recent presidential decree instructs the Foreign Ministry to explore the possibility of a visa-free regime for U.S. citizens, paired with an easing...

29.05.2025 4

The Diplomat

Catherine Putz

All Along a Bumpy Road: Understanding Sinophobic Sentiments in Central Asia

While protests against Canadian mines, or Russian businesses, occur in Central Asia, “Chinese projects overwhelmingly receive the vast majority of...

28.05.2025 9

The Diplomat

Catherine Putz

Kyrgyzstan: Incoming Peace Corps Cohort Cancelled Last Minute

As DOGE takes aim at the Peace Corps, the sudden cancellation of the June departure of new volunteers to Kyrgyzstan “is particularly cruel and...

23.05.2025 10

The Diplomat

Catherine Putz

Tajikistan Decriminalizes ‘Likes’ Online

A 2018 amendment had opened the door to criminal prosecution, and up to 15 years in jail, for “liking” or reacting online with an emoji to content...

15.05.2025 20

The Diplomat

Catherine Putz

Trump Administration Ends Temporary Protections for Afghan Immigrants

Homeland Security Secretary Noem determined that "permitting Afghan nationals to remain temporarily in the United States is contrary to the national...

13.05.2025 10

The Diplomat

Catherine Putz

Russian Raids Target Central Asians in Cafes, Bathhouses

Central Asian governments have been meek in the face of Moscow's repeated targeting of the region’s citizens. 

09.05.2025 5

The Diplomat

Catherine Putz

Vicky Davis on Remembering World War II in Central Asia

“As the importance of Victory Day in Central Asia decreases, it is needed even more in Moscow to promote and validate the war in Ukraine.”

30.04.2025 8

The Diplomat

Catherine Putz

Local Employee of Russian Cultural Agency Detained in Recruitment Case in Kyrgyzstan

Four people were detained in Osh on April 19 in connection with a case of mercenary recruitment.

25.04.2025 10

The Diplomat

Catherine Putz

How Turkmenistan’s Government Neglects Its People (And Why the World Should Care)

“When the international community ignores a country like Turkmenistan, it sends a message that some lives – and some struggles – matter less.”

24.04.2025 4

The Diplomat

Catherine Putz

Satire on Trial: Temirlan Yensebek in Kazakh Court for Using a Rude Rap Track

An offensive 20-year-old rap song may land a Kazakh satirist in jail for seven years. But there's more to the case than a rude song.

10.04.2025 4

The Diplomat

Catherine Putz

Andijan Taxi Driver Sentenced for Attempt to Recruit Uzbeks into the Russian War in Ukraine

A Russian contact offered the man up to $1,000 to recruit his passengers into traveling to Russia to work in the conflict zone. 

09.04.2025 3

The Diplomat

Catherine Putz

Karakalpak Refugees Find Asylum in the US

An interview with Tleubike Yuldasheva, Ziuar Mirmanbetova, Raisa Khudaibergenova, and Zhangeldi Zhaksymbetov.

08.04.2025 3

The Diplomat

Catherine Putz

Kazakhstan Makes Trump ‘Reciprocal’ Tariff List

Trade between the U.S. and Kazakhstan is limited and heavily skewed toward energy, which has been exempt from the new tariffs.

07.04.2025 4

The Diplomat

Catherine Putz

USAID Cuts Devastating to Central Asia Programs

If leaked documents listing active and terminated projects are accurate, almost all USAID programs in Central Asia have been cut. 

28.03.2025 3

The Diplomat

Catherine Putz

USAGM Reverses Course on RFE/RL and OTF Grant Terminations

A day after RFE/RL won a temporary restraining order against USAGM’s freezing of its funding, the agency has backed off. But it may be, at best, a...

28.03.2025 10

The Diplomat

Catherine Putz

4th Drone Fragment Found in West Kazakhstan on Russian Border

Since February, there have been four separate reports of UAV fragments landing in a Kazakh region that borders Russia. 

27.03.2025 30

The Diplomat

Catherine Putz

International Religious Freedom in the Spotlight Amid US Political Recalibration

A discussion on religious freedom abroad invariably circled back to the present political turmoil in the United States under the second Trump...

26.03.2025 60

The Diplomat

Catherine Putz

Cancellation of RFE/RL’s Grant Called ‘Illegal’ and a ‘Gift’ to US Adversaries

RFE/RL leadership has pushed back on the decision by its parent organization, the U.S. Agency for Global Media, to cancel its grants, calling the move...

17.03.2025 4

The Diplomat

Catherine Putz

Pickers and Clusters: A Complex Array of Issues Confronts Uzbekistan’s Evolving Cotton Industry

The 2024 harvest saw a shortage of pickers, government backtracking on positive legislation, and issues stemming from the cotton cluster system;...

13.03.2025 9

The Diplomat

Catherine Putz

Lawyer Extradited From Kyrgyzstan to California to Face Visa Fraud Charges

On the run since 2018, former immigration lawyer Danhong “Jean” Chen was recently detained in Kyrgyzstan and extradited to the United States.

12.03.2025 4

The Diplomat

Catherine Putz

Kazakhstan Aims to Increase Oil Exports via BTC Pipeline

But a proposed increase from 1.4 million tons to 2.2 million tons is just a drop in the bucket compared to the volumes Kazakhstan exports via...

11.03.2025 2

The Diplomat

Catherine Putz

Tajik President to Visit Kyrgyzstan, Sign Border Deal, Ahead of Momentous Trilateral Summit

The presidents of Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan are expected to meet for their first-ever trilateral summit on March 31.

11.03.2025 3

The Diplomat

Catherine Putz

Kazakhstan’s Plans for a Regional Sustainable Development Goals Center Backed at UN

The effort, however, comes at a time when major global powers – namely the U.S. – are pivoting away from the kind of U.N.-centered cooperative...

05.03.2025 7

The Diplomat

Catherine Putz

Uzbek Security Service Shakeup Continues With Dismissal of Internal Affairs Minister

Pulat Bobojonov, who has been minister of internal affairs since 2017, was moved to an adviser post in the presidential administration. 

04.03.2025 8

The Diplomat

Catherine Putz

Japanese Foreign Minister Banned by Russia Over Ukraine Sanctions

Moscow doled out permanent entry bans on Foreign Minister Iwaya Takeshi and eight other top officials and business leaders in retaliation for Japanese...

04.03.2025 10

The Diplomat

Catherine Putz

Gold Plot Auction Heightens Focus on Chinese Investments in Uzbekistan

31 plots in Uzbekistan’s prime gold mining region Navoi went up for auction last month, sparking rumors and discussion about China’s growing...

03.03.2025 3

The Diplomat

Catherine Putz

Misun Woo on Women’s Rights in the Asia-Pacific

“We need to ask why there hasn’t been much change to advance women’s human rights and end injustice?”

01.03.2025 20

The Diplomat

Catherine Putz

Tracking Taliban Travel

Natalie Gonnella-Platts and Albert Torres explain how consistent travel ban exemptions undercut global efforts to pressure the Taliban.

18.02.2025 4

The Diplomat

Catherine Putz

Turkmenistan Settles Gas Swap Deal With Turkiye, Iran

According to Turkish officials, the gas flow is planned to start on March 1, with Turkmen gas reaching Turkiye via a swap deal involving Iran. 

12.02.2025 10

The Diplomat

Catherine Putz

Musk Takes Aim at RFE/RL, to Japarov’s Delight

The powers-that-be in Washington, elected and unelected alike, are parroting the same language used by Central Asian and Russian autocrats about...

11.02.2025 5

The Diplomat

Catherine Putz

Former Kyrgyz Natural Resources Minister Sentenced to 8 Years

Dinara Kutmanova and her son, once at the forefront of the Kumtor nationalization movement, were charged with abuse of office and fraud. They'd been...

07.02.2025 10

The Diplomat

Catherine Putz

OSCE Cancels Tajikistan Parliamentary Election Observation Mission

Without guarantees that observers would be accredited, and an apparent lack of engagement by Dushanbe, the OSCE has chosen to cancel its monitoring...

06.02.2025 8

The Diplomat

Catherine Putz

After a Secret Trial, Lengthy Sentences for Former Tajik Officials and Politicians

Given the classified nature of the trial, the details of the alleged plot are unknown.

06.02.2025 7

The Diplomat

Catherine Putz

EU-Central Asia Leaders’ Summit Back on the Agenda

Planned originally for 2024, the summit is now scheduled for April 2025 in Samarkand – setting it apart from earlier China- and U.S.-Central Asia...

05.02.2025 6

The Diplomat

Catherine Putz

Just a Little Tax Spat? Russia Asks Kyrgyzstan to Stop Pressure on Companies

The Russian prime minister recently complained about "unfounded claims and illegal statements by high-level representatives of Kyrgyz government...

04.02.2025 10

The Diplomat

Catherine Putz

Torture Trial in Kazakhstan Ends in Prison Sentences, But Dissatisfaction Lingers

Six police officers were sentenced to three years in prison in relation to the torture of 44 foreign nationals in the dark days of Qandy Qantar 2022.

30.01.2025 6

The Diplomat

Catherine Putz

With Foreign Aid Freeze and Immigration Restrictions, US Leaves Afghan Allies in the Cold

Trump's executive orders on aid and immigration have effectively frozen the Afghan SIV program, stranding thousands of Afghans in the process of...

28.01.2025 8

The Diplomat

Catherine Putz

Kambarata-1 Brings Kyrgyz, Kazakh, and Uzbek Energy Officials Together in Tashkent

The hydropower project in Kyrgyzstan has tapped into the region’s thirst for cooperation.

28.01.2025 10

The Diplomat

Catherine Putz

Trump’s Russia Gambit Puts Central Asia on Notice

Given Trump’s past approaches, it’s entirely possible that the new U.S. president will demand that Central Asia’s governments “do more” with...

23.01.2025 10

The Diplomat

Catherine Putz

Tiny Steps for TAPI in the Taliban’s Afghanistan

The Taliban authorities say that around 3 kilometers of the pipeline has been completed, out of more than 770 km needed to bring Turkmen gas to the...

16.01.2025 6

The Diplomat

Catherine Putz