Darren Spinck

Managing Partner, Washington Consulting Solutions; Associate Fellow, Henry Jackson Society; Managing Director, Janus Forum; Non Resident Fellow Danube Institute

[The Times of Central Asia @thetimesoca]

U.S. Congressman Bill Huizenga, chair of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on South and Central Asia, has warned Kyiv that further strikes affecting the Caspian Pipeline Consortium would be unacceptable, citing risks to global energy security.
https://t.co/FsVcil4gmB

[Laura Ingraham @IngrahamAngle]

Key Point: “The American people are done with war.  They will not support war.  They will not (voluntarily) pay for war.  They will not make sacrifices to support war.  They will not encourage their kids and grandkids to fight in wars.  They won’t vote for politicians who promise war, and they will punish politicians who get them into war.  It’s not Trump who’s making America more isolationist.  It’s the American people.  And they are going to win this fight.”
A War Restrained by the People https://t.co/lCpxxqlfZr

[Darren Spinck @DSpinck]

Reckless Ukrainian drone attacks on tankers in the Black Sea worsen the global oil shock. The Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) route carries 80% of #Kazakhstan’s oil and more than 1% of the global supply. The #Trump Administration should quickly urge @ZelenskyyUa to halt any future attacks on CPC infrastructure (US companies own 28% of the pipeline while Kazakh companies own 19%). Undermining global energy supply chains is not acceptable. https://t.co/CRJWXXdW29

[Washington Times Opinion @WashTimesOpEd]

“An open Armenia-Turkey border would make the U.S.-backed TRIPP plan more valuable. For American investors, a better-connected Armenia is more attractive than a landlocked market with limited overland access,” @DSpinck explains.

[Washington Times Opinion @WashTimesOpEd]

@DSpinck Continue reading: https://t.co/L921hUBLYU

[The Washington Times @WashTimes]

@DSpinck Keep reading @WashTimesOpEd: https://t.co/AXdxcqvweh

[The Washington Times @WashTimes]

OPINION: “With the NATO summit now over, President Trump should make clear that opening the Armenia-Turkey border would serve Turkey’s interests and give Ankara a constructive stake in a more stable South Caucasus,” @DSpinck writes.

[Washington Times Opinion @WashTimesOpEd]

@DSpinck Read more: https://t.co/L921hUBLYU

[Washington Times Opinion @WashTimesOpEd]

“Opening the Armenia-Turkey border would help turn peace into tangible economic progress and give the United States a stronger role in a more stable South Caucasus,” @DSpinck argues.

[Richard Nixon Foundation @nixonfoundation]

Happy 250th Birthday, America!

"A country is only as great and only as strong as its adherence to lasting ideals is great and strong and firm."

[Fox News @FoxNews]

VP VANCE: "Everything that we have done as a country, we have done together, not as citizens divided against each other, but as a common people working towards a common future."

In his remarks marking the nation's 250th birthday, the vice president took aim at what he called "loud voices" who focus obsessively on America's sins while overlooking its grace, resilience, and greatness.

"You will hear a couple small but loud voices today speak obsessively, not of our national greatness, but of our national imperfections... Reject the view of your nation that sees only its sins, but not its grace and its greatness."

@america250 #america250 #freedom250

[Fox News @FoxNews]

JUST IN: Vice President JD Vance calls on Americans to reject "zero sum thinking" and division as the nation marks its historic 250th birthday.

Speaking on the milestone anniversary, Vance emphasized that American history is defined by unity and a shared mission, rather than a narrow focus on the nation's past flaws.

"What I'd ask you to do, my fellow Americans, on our 250th birthday, is to reject the two dimensional view of your fellow citizens, and reject the two dimensional view of your country."

“Reject that America is a place for zero sum thinking because it is not, our history is one of people carving a great civilization out of the wilderness.”

“Reject the view of your nation that sees only its sins, but not its grace and its greatness." | @America250 #freedom250 #america250

[Kazakh🇰🇿Embassy DC @KazakhEmbassy]

🇰🇿Kazakhstan has joined Pax Silica, a global initiative advancing AI, innovation, and resilient technology supply chains.

At the Pax Silica Summit, DPM-AI Minister @Zhaslan_Madiyev signed the Pax Silica Declaration and the Joint Statement on the AI Opportunity Partnership.

The agreements will help expand investment, accelerate the development of AI infrastructure and advanced technologies, and strengthen #Kazakhstan’s position as a regional digital and innovation hub.

[Darren Spinck @DSpinck]

My thoughts on the risk to Chinese investments in Hungary, following the April 2026 parliamentary election. I write, “For @magyarpeterMP, the challenge will be separating legitimate oversight from his disdain of anything linked to @PM_ViktorOrban and #Fidesz. #Hungary can seek greater transparency, labor compliance, environmental guardrails, and economic growth without destroying the investment climate. The future of Hungary’s Eastern Opening may not yet be abandonment, but it will be a more regulated, Brussels-aligned version of engagement with China.”

https://t.co/bryOGHREgK

[Darren Spinck @DSpinck]

Thank you to the Ministry of Investment, Industry and Trade of the Republic of #Uzbekistan for organizing last week’s Tashkent International Investment Forum #TIFF. It was great to see the Ministry post a summary of the panel which I participated on, The Middle Corridor: Capacity, Complementarity, and Economics of New Trade Routes.

@DSpinck , Managing Director of the @JanusForum1 emphasized that the Middle Corridor has become a strategic necessity for global supply chains amid growing geopolitical uncertainty and the desire to diversify trade routes. He noted that cargo volumes along the corridor increased by approximately 800% between 2021 and 2025, exceeding 4 million tonnes. He noted that Uzbekistan is uniquely positioned to transform itself from a landlocked country into a major commercial, industrial, and logistics hub by developing infrastructure, processing industries, and critical mineral value chains around new transport routes.

"The question is no longer whether trade will flow through #Eurasia. The question is where the value created by this trade will end up." "Countries that invest not only in transit infrastructure but also in industrial capacity, logistics services, and high-value-added manufacturing will reap the greatest long-term benefits from changing trade patterns," he noted.

https://t.co/VgIJjPvfZ2

[Furqat Sidiqov @FurqatSidiq]

A young Uzbek boy in the Samarkand bazaar confidently negotiated with John Jovanovic, Chairman of the U.S. Export-Import Bank, not knowing who he was—just another customer to him.
His confidence impressed everyone. I was also struck by Mr. Jovanovic’s humility and respect.
🇺🇿✨

[Danube Institute @InstituteDanube]

https://t.co/XNhsO7QSsM

[Cynical Publius @CynicalPublius]

If you grew up in the New York/North Jersey area in the 80s-90s, you understand this.

Donald Trump has always been a New Yorker and always been in and around the NYC sports scene.

Heck, he used to own a professional football franchise with Herschel Walker and Doug Flutie as players.

[Darren Spinck @DSpinck]

It was a pleasure to speak at the Tashkent International Investment Forum. During the “Middle Corridor: Capacity, Complementarity, and the Economics of New Trade Routes” panel, I stressed the following:

1. The debate is no longer whether the Middle Corridor matters. Global supply chain disruptions, geopolitical competition, and growing demand for critical minerals have transformed the Middle Corridor from an alternative route into a strategic necessity.
2. The next challenge is operationalization. Rather than attempting to modernize the entire corridor at once, countries should prioritize strategic hubs (ports, logistics centers, industrial zones, and key transit links) that can generate immediate economic value and attract further investment.
3. TRIPP offers a practical model. By concentrating resources on a critical chokepoint in the South Caucasus, the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity demonstrates how targeted investments can unlock trade flows, strengthen connectivity, and catalyze broader regional integration.
4. Uzbekistan is uniquely positioned to benefit. The country has an opportunity to transform itself from landlocked to connected by leveraging the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan Railway, developing logistics hubs, expanding industrial connectivity, modernizing customs systems, and advancing critical mineral/rare earth elements development.
5. The winners of the next phase of Eurasian connectivity will not simply move cargo. Countries that invest today in logistics, industrial capacity, mineral processing, digital trade systems, and efficient transportation networks will capture a larger share of tomorrow’s economic growth.