Week in Review: Big Shifts, Elections, and More.

Orda has put together a brief synopsis of last week's news.

Baltic nations slapped sanctions on specific Georgian authorities for the excessive crackdown on protestors. Ukraine also followed suit, and the US declared looming restrictions. 

Amid the unsubsiding protests, opposition party leaders were detained, while President Salome Zurabishvili and 30 opposition MPs' saw their election violation claim rejected. 

Later in the week, in neighboring Azerbaijan, Meydan TV employees Aytaj Tapdyg, Natig Javadli, Ramin Jabrailzade, and Khayala Agayeva were detained over charges concerning illegal currency import. The journalists say they returned from covering the Georgia protests and have denied the allegations.

Meanwhile, at the beginning of the week, a Taliban delegation visited Uzbekistan and met with high-ranking officials. The delegation discussed strengthening political, economic, and cultural relations with Prime Minister Abdulla Aripov and Deputy Prime Minister Jamshid Khodjae.

Reports indicate Uzbek investors expressing readiness to operate in Afghanistan's mines and the Trans-Afghan project as beneficial for Afghanistan's economy and the region.

With cold weather setting in, Tashkent also received news concerning gas supplies; Turkmenistan pledged to ramp them up. Pursuing diversification, Ashgabat has experienced setbacks with supplies flowing to Europe.

Ashgabat previously discontinued gas supplies to Russia, and Tashkent is anything but apprehensive regarding additional flows. Russia is also present in Uzbekistan's gas market, and Türkmengaz's past hiccups could tilt in Moscow's favor.

What is more, Ashgabat will likely be more inclined to focus on the TAPI project, which saw construction begin in Afghanistan.

Russia also has more pressing matters: Putin altered gas payment regulations to sidestep recent sanctions against Gazprom. Still, allowing other banks to process the payments for gas does not necessarily rule out their future blacklisting by Western nations.

Incidentally, CSTO Secretary General Imangali Tasmagambetov held a press conference on the results of the organization's work in 2024. One statement concerning "NATO expansion" stood out. A day prior, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said Armenia had crossed the point of no return, answering a question about returning to the CSTO.

Although Armenia has demonstrated attempts to expand its options, Yerevan's rhetoric has not changed significantly, thus explaining Russian authorities' reservations about an actual exit.

Other CSTO members also made headlines: Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan finalized delineating their borders. 

The matter has long been a source of conflict that has spurred armed clashes.

Their frequency can be a cause for doubt, but both nations are likely keen on stabilizing relations. Indeed, with increasing logistics on everyone's mind and potential security challenges stemming from Afghanistan, ensuring predictability will undoubtedly take a front seat.

With rebels liberating Damascus, President Bashar al-Assad’s forces are unable to enjoy such certainty. Türkiye, whose role is speculated, will have the upper hand to secure its interests and the Syrian opposition – the ability to push for favorable conditions.

More notably, Ankara's diplomatic reach will extend even further, matching its military projection.

In parallel, safeguarding its military assets is, in all likelihood, Moscow's biggest concern, whereas Iran's narrative has dramatically shifted. 

Both will be inclined to agree to terms ensuring stability and will be willing to work with the new leadership but have sustained a significant blow.

Moscow's housing of Assad could prove obstructive, and the Kremlin will be more concerned about Ukraine, while those who replace Assad's regime will prioritize other pressing matters, such as reconstruction and dialogue with regional actors and the international community.

Regardless of the outcome, only time will tell whether divergence will emerge among Syrian opposition factions. Current developments point to cohesion, though the situation is constantly evolving.

Advocating its interests, Ukraine reasserted that it will reject anything short of a NATO membership. However, despite pushing to arm Kyiv further, NATO's narrative has geared towards a focus on attaining negotiations.

A Ukrainian delegation met with the incoming Trump team, yet little details emerged on the nature of the talks. Trump also spoke of Ukraine seeking a "deal" and being open to reducing military aid to Ukraine and pulling the United States out of NATO.

Amid such murkiness, the Pentagon announced further assistance to Ukraine.

Not long before, Romania annulled the recent presidential results. A higher Romanian court ruled on invalidating them after Călin Georgescu, a far-right independent, won it; he had been polling at barely 5%.

The court decision followed law enforcement's divulgation of classified information concerning an alleged mass Russian influence operation.

His opponent, Elena Valerica Lasconi, still dubbed the decision "illegal" and "immoral," claiming the Romanian state "trampled on democracy." Lasconi sought to clinch a victory in the run-off.

On the same day as the Ukrainian Delegation's meeting, a Ukrainian drone struck a regiment barracks located 4 km from the residence of the Chechen leader, Ramzan Kadyrov. Kadyrov later released a video of him offering a Ukrainian POW to shoot himself.

Kadyrov also lambasted Russian law enforcement heads Alexander Bastrykin and Vladimir Kolokoltsev, saying "they were not in their places." Judging by Kadyrov's statements, a controversial case involving an 18-year-old Muslim boy and the mounting migration clampdown were the reasons. 

Meanwhile, in neighboring Ingushetia, four men suspected of aiding the Crocus City Hall terrorist attack were detained. Previously, Khusein Medov and Dzhabrail Aushev, also implicated in the attack, were arrested over charges of illegal weapon trafficking. They are reportedly affiliated with what Russian law enforcement has called the terrorist combat wing of the "Ingush Batal-khadz wird."

The above four detainees allegedly aided Batyr Kulayev in evading law enforcement. Kulayev is an Ingushetian native and was purportedly involved in supplying weapons for the attack on Crocus City Hall. He and another suspect, Khavazh-Bagaudin Aliyev, are still at large.

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