Joseph Epstein

Director of @TuranCenter. Contributor to @wsj, @newsweek, @besa_center, @nypost, @novayagazeta_en, @AtlanticCouncil, etc. Focus on Eurasia and Middle East.

[Joseph Epstein @epsteinjos]

My latest for @Newsweek on how Trump should expand the Abraham Accords to Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. Doing so will help Washington establish a needed foothold in this crucial region.

https://t.co/oazllOtEE4

[Joseph Epstein @epsteinjos]

Armenia votes June 7, and the result decides whether the U.S.-brokered peace with Azerbaijan survives. Moscow knows this and has mobilized: leaked SDA files, intelligence officers in Yerevan, and a sanctioned billionaire running the Kremlin’s playbook. Washington has the tools to respond. My new piece in @Newsweek: https://t.co/W1ZALEZ5tt

[Turan Research Center @TuranCenter]

Europe treats the Middle Corridor as one option among several. Georgia treats it as leverage over Brussels.
New analysis by @bako_kheladze https://t.co/1spDc9BNCR

[Turan Research Center @TuranCenter]

How does Russia rig elections?

Senior Fellow Bruce Pannier breaks down the five-layer playbook: spies, disinformation, oligarchs, captured institutions, and Western lawyers or lobbyists who help launder the message.

Armenia votes on June 7.

The video draws on recent investigations by @OCCRP, @InsiderEng, Ukrainian and European outlets, research by @MarkGaleotti, and analysis by Turan Research Center Director @epsteinjos .

Watch the full video on YouTube: https://t.co/nGb8qupIq0

#Armenia #Russia #ElectionInterference #Disinformation #Geopolitics

[Professor Kopalyan @hyepatriarch]

Extraordinarily important development today in US-Armenia relations, as the government-to-government framework on TRIPP proceeds with the implementation stage, while US and Armenia elevate relations to the level of comprehensive strategic partnership. But just as importantly, US is now a direct stakeholder and supporter of enhancing Armenia's military and defense capabilities. Special shutout to @JonAskonas and the entire @StateDept team for working intimately and in true partnership with @MFAofArmenia.

[Turan Research Center @TuranCenter]

Kazakhstan gave up the world’s fourth-largest nuclear arsenal. Now it wants nuclear energy.

Senior Fellow Bruce Pannier explains Semipalatinsk, Rosatom’s $15B reactor plan, Russia’s stalled energy deals, and China’s growing role.

Watch the full video on YouTube: https://t.co/lBgAyVmoCt

Analysis draws on research by @DosymSatpayev , founder of the Kazakhstan Risks Assessment Group: https://t.co/MXf5dDxXWz

#Kazakhstan #NuclearEnergy #Rosatom #Russia #China #CentralAsia #Geopolitics

[Turan Research Center @TuranCenter]

As many as 121,000 Afghan children have been traded or sold since August 2021. Turan Fellow @hehsani71 tells @skynewsarabia the crisis stems from both rural economic collapse and tribal customary rulings that allow child sales to settle outstanding debts.

https://t.co/jPTGEU7ulGالجوع-يبتلع-الطفولة-عائلات-أفغانية-تعرض-أبناءها-للبيع

[Turan Research Center @TuranCenter]

Assad is gone. Iran is humbled. Russia's regional posture should be unraveling. But Rosatom's pipelines from Bushehr to Akkuyu to El Dabaa tell a different story. New analysis from Research Fellow @emilavdaliani: https://t.co/nAJEqSlH2h

[Andrew D'Anieri @andrew_danieri]

Russia is using dirty tactics to try to depose Armenia’s PM Pashinyan and install a Kremlin-friendly figure.

@epsteinjos convincingly lays out why+how the US should help Yerevan secure fair elections as Moscow tries to muck up the vote for its own gain. https://t.co/5h2q8i2BvL

[Joseph Epstein @epsteinjos]

The loudest "pro-Palestinian" voices in America aren't about Gaza. The tell is what they don't protest — silent on the Uyghurs, Cuba's prisoners, and Iran's gallows, loud only on U.S. allies. Follow the money and you find a communist in Shanghai. My latest in @dcexaminer https://t.co/DMYSYU4gRi

[Joseph Epstein @epsteinjos]

Xi just threw Iran under the bus at the Trump-Beijing summit, signaling China won't back Tehran's taxation or militarization of the Strait of Hormuz. It exposes the China-Russia-Iran "axis" as a partnership of convenience, and Russia should be worried: Moscow fears Beijing far more than it lets on. My new piece in @Newsweek: https://t.co/n7A1qNsStY

[Turan Research Center @TuranCenter]

Can the Turkic world become a real power bloc?

Ahead of the OTS summit in Turkestan, Bruce Pannier speaks with @RafaelSattaroff and Andrei Kazantsev-Vaisman about AI, security cooperation, Russia’s anxiety, and the growing roles of Baku, Astana, and Tashkent.

Watch: https://t.co/bjDoGdXRaO

[Karys Rhea @RheaKarys]

"The intel Israel provides would cost America '5 CIAs' to produce independently, US Air Force Gen. George Keegan estimated decades ago — & that has only compounded since. The National Intelligence Program budget was $82 billion for fy 2026." @epsteinjos

https://t.co/pQpnsSDXGY

[Nigar İbrahimova🇦🇿🇹🇷 @nigaribr7]

Rusya-Ermenistan arasında bir süredir esen soğuk rüzgarlar yerini fırtınaya bırakabilir.

Vladimir Putin’in tehdit vari Ukrayna benzetmesi yaparak, Ermenistan’ın Batıyla Rusya arasındaki seçimini Ermeni halkının referandumla belirlemesi ve çıkacak sonuca göre gerekirse kibarca “ayrılık” (“boşanma”) yoluna girilebileceği teklifine Ermenistan Başbakanı Paşinyan’ın yanıtı;

“Ne zaman karar vereceğimize dışarıdan kimse karar veremez, zamanı geldiğinde biz belirleriz” oldu..

[Turan Research Center @TuranCenter]

Erdogan has not replaced Pan-Islamism with Pan-Turkism. Pan-Turkism has joined it. Both are flexible instruments for projecting influence where Turkey's material capacity is constrained — neither, on its own, is grand strategy. New from Rafael Sattarov:

https://t.co/a4CmcyZen0

[Turan Research Center @TuranCenter]

Kyrgyzstan moved $30B+ through licensed crypto platforms in 2025 — more than its GDP.

Now Bishkek is launching state-backed stablecoins and building a crypto reserve.

Innovation, or a sanctions risk?

Video is based on analysis by @AigiTurgunbaeva for the Turan Research Center.

Watch: https://t.co/zobxj1O1hs

Read: https://t.co/QUJ47uMLXq

#Kyrgyzstan #Crypto #CentralAsia

[Jen Brick Murtazashvili @jmurtazashvili]

I'm not sure what is worse, the comments made by Usmonova -- which are deeply antisemitic or the Kun headline which attributes this criticism to "zionist" organizations. The idea to separate bad zionists from good Jews has its origins in old Soviet antisemitism. They should know better. I respect the journalists at Kun and know they can handle the criticism.

The Bukharian Jewish community in New York has denounced her visit as well. Don't see them mentioned in this story. In the article she mentions "Jews" not Zionists. The article left out the really important quote (you can find in NY Post below): "May the almighty rain all misfortunes upon your heads, Jews!” There are many more quotes in Uzbek .

In the U.S. people have the freedom to listen to any kind of hatred they want. What surprised me is how many people are rallying around her because of this. That tells you everything. This is not unusual these days. Jew hatred does not do anything to help those in Gaza. The problems in the Middle East are real. But we can see that Jew hatred gets you clicks and sells tickets.

The sad part about this is that Uzbekistan didn't used to be like this. This kind of discourse was quite rare (this conflict is not a new one). Now it normalized. I have been engaged with Uzbekistan for almost (!) thirty years and have never seen anything like this.

The danger here, however, is not for the Jewish people. There are hardly any left in Uzbekistan This Kind of conspiratorial antisemitism that Usmonova has on display is the very kind that leads to social rot. I remember some truly hateful language used against Karakalpaks a couple of years ago that was quite similar.

We are fighting this kind of thing in the US. But it is a fight. We've seen this kind of thinking take hold in many places. Some countries in the Middle East are trying to dig themselves out of this right now because they understand that hatred of Jews does nothing to solve the conflict the Middle East. Instead, it deeply damages their own societies. Seeing so many worrying signs in Uzbekistan. Uzbekistan was once a model of tolerance. This was a great asset that the country seems to be losing. https://t.co/tlNlYA2pUA

[Joseph Epstein @epsteinjos]

Two of the Kremlin's top propagandists are openly calling for war against Armenia, using the exact "protect the Russian population" line Putin deployed before Crimea and Ukraine. The June 7 vote will decide whether Trump's first peace deal of his second term survives, or whether Moscow vetoes it at the ballot box.
My latest in @Newsweek

https://t.co/zjZZT5uXls

[Turan Research Center @TuranCenter]

Kyrgyzstan's licensed crypto turnover hit $30B+ in 2025 — more than 2x GDP. The state is now issuing its own sovereign stablecoins. New from @AigiTurgunbaeva
https://t.co/su6BWh2Fc9

[Turan Research Center @TuranCenter]

Azerbaijan just defied Russia — right on its own border.

Zelensky visited Gabala. Aliyev backed Ukraine’s territorial integrity. Baku offered itself as a venue for talks with Russia.

And Moscow barely responded. Our new explainer breaks down why Azerbaijan no longer fears Moscow.

Featuring Serhiy Danilov, @emilavdaliani, and @epsteinjos.

Video is based on research by Joseph Epstein.

Watch Now: https://t.co/OemaEgoQQV

Read the analysis:
https://t.co/GBa8zYT1Js

[Press Office of the President of Kazakhstan @aqorda_press]

🇰🇿 🇮🇱 Aqorda welcomes President of the State of Israel @Isaac_Herzog