Central Asia’s leaders meet as Taliban makes gains in Afghanistan

Talks between five nations are being held in Turkmenistan, with war in neighbouring Afghanistan topping their agenda.

The leaders of five Central Asian countries have gathered for talks in Turkmenistan, with the spiral of war in neighbouring Afghanistan topping their agenda as the United States-led foreign forces leave the country. The talks in the Caspian Sea town of Avaza on Friday come as the Taliban challenges Afghan government forces in several large cities after weeks of gains in the countryside, including in provinces next to the three former Soviet “stans” that border the country – Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. Turkmenistan’s President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov called Afghanistan “the question that worries all of us” on Wednesday as state television showed him receiving his Tajikistan counterpart Emomali Rahmon for bilateral talks ahead of the summit.