Central Asia in July 2026: the most important developments in politics
In Central Asia in July 2026, the main political news came from Kazakhstan, which began operating under a new constitution on July 1. President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev called the change a major overhaul of the state. The constitution, approved in a referendum, limits presidential powers and replaces the two-chamber parliament with a single-chamber body, the Kurultai. A decree set parliamentary elections for August 23. On July 7 Kazakhstan's top court ruled that Tokayev can seek another term.
Relations with Russia and China followed. On July 16 Tokayev met China's President Xi Jinping in Shanghai, where new joint projects were announced and Xi called for deeper cooperation in minerals and energy. On July 17 China and Kazakhstan signed deals worth 11.4 billion euros, and Xi spoke of a new level in relations. In late July Tokayev told Russian President Vladimir Putin that the war in Ukraine should be stopped or frozen and proposed a return to the so-called Istanbul Formula as a basis for talks, the first such call from a Kazakh leader since the conflict began. The Kremlin said a freeze was impossible under current conditions. Both leaders said Russia and Kazakhstan have no unresolved issues. Earlier in the month Kazakhstan rejected Russian claims that drones struck the Omsk refinery from its territory, and Tokayev invited US President Donald Trump to visit Kazakhstan.
Elsewhere in the region, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi arrived in Kyrgyzstan on July 24 for a meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, and Kyrgyzstan also held talks with India, Pakistan, China and Iran. Kyrgyzstan negotiated fuel supplies with Russia because of domestic shortages. Belarus and Uzbekistan approved a cooperation roadmap for 2026-2030 after Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev met Alexander Lukashenko. Uzbekistan held consultations in Ashgabat, and Turkmenistan's president visited Georgia, where the two countries signed cooperation agreements on July 17. Azerbaijan signed trade deals with Central Asian states and planned a joint Caspian fleet with Uzbekistan to strengthen the Middle Corridor trade route. Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian called Tajikistan Iran's second home.
by WorldBrief & Maksim Micheliov | AI-generated summary
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