Mukhtar Ablyazov, the fugitive Kazakh billionaire wanted on corruption charges in several European countries, has agreed a deal for Belgian citizenship and immunity as the legal net tightens around him in neighboring France.

Russian policy based on its misreading of the West, and especially on its misunderstanding of its own neighbors, can only frustrate.

An escalating diplomatic and trade dispute between Kazakhstan and its smaller central Asian neighbour Kyrgyzstan is hurting companies as far away as London, and pressure is growing on Russia to step in and reconcile its allies.

For close to a year, the U.S.-Russian focus has centered around whether the Trump campaign colluded with Russia in an effort to undermine Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign.

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People walk by an election poster of Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev in Almaty on April 2, 2011.