Turkmenistan Emerges As Transit Hub For Russian Deliveries To South Asia

There is no keeping the Russians away from Turkmenistan at the moment. On January 19, Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin traveled to Ashgabat for a two-day visit that culminated in much effusive talk of future cooperation. Ten days after that, it was the turn of the speaker of the Russian State Duma, Vyacheslav Volodin, to do the same.  Volodin was ostensibly in town on some intra-parliamentary business. Since the Turkmen legislature is an institution of no actual significance, though, this aspect of the agenda was for show. And it wasn’t…