Mirziyoyev plans to build a large shopping centre on the site where, in 2005, hundreds of protesters—who had occupied a high-security prison in protest against a wave of arrests—were killed in a military crackdown. For years, the authorities claimed that the demonstrators were “slaughtered by Islamic terrorists.”

The breakdown in relations with Europe was portrayed by Russian propaganda as a bright new horizon for the Eurasian space. But sanctions have enabled Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan to grow in their role as intermediaries in trade with third countries. And today, many migrants are looking more to the West than to Moscow.

The region holds vast reserves of these minerals, now highly sought after by the high-tech industry. Kazakhstan speaks of “unparalleled deposits”. The European Union is working to foster suitable partnerships as a possible alternative to China for supplies. However, these efforts are hindered by underdeveloped technological infrastructure, which slows down the region’s real prospects for growth.

Since the collapse of the USSR, the five former Soviet republics of Central Asia have been debating whether to abandon the Cyrillic alphabet in favour of Latin script. Some argue it more closely reflects the phonetics of Turkic languages, but the issue is entangled with broader calls for “de-Russification” in the context of the war in Ukraine. Even in Kazakhstan—where Nazarbayev launched the transition with the aim of completing it by 2031—serious doubts remain.

According to documents, hundreds of Uzbek farmers have handed over their property “voluntarily”, but many claim that this happened “under pressure from the internal affairs and prosecution authorities”. There are currently over 3,500 Chinese companies operating throughout the country.

After much hesitation and meetings at the level of individual countries, now in Samarkand the European Union has openly declared its intention to ‘raise relations to the level of strategic partnership’ with the region as a whole. But local leaders, who aim to ‘diversify’ their foreign policy, are waiting to see how many resources Brussels will really put on the table.