A recent crippling gas pipeline blast in Turkmenistan, which the government blamed on Russia’s gas monopoly Gazprom, is proof that energy-rich Central Asian nations need to diversify their export routes, a senior U.S. diplomat said Friday.

A senior U.S. diplomat says the United States hopes to reach an agreement with Turkmenistan on allowing the transit of non-lethal goods to neighboring Afghanistan.

Turkmenistan’s authoritarian president has ordered members of his government to go back to school or lose their jobs.

Energy-rich Turkmenistan’s president has fired almost one-third of his Cabinet and the head of the state oil company in a large-scale reshuffle reminiscent of his eccentric predecessor’s frequent purges.

The commander of U.S. forces in Iraq and Afghanistan has arrived in Turkmenistan to discuss cooperation on increasing security across Central Asia.

Bulgaria secured a tentative deal Friday to receive gas supplies from energy-rich Turkmenistan that could lay the grounds for increased gas deliveries to Europe from the Central Asian nation.

A Russian-dominated group on Monday called Turkmenistan’s parliamentary election free and open, but critics said the vote in the Central Asian nation was a sham and disputed the official turnout figure.

Turkmenistan appears to be removing all references to its autocratic former leader from the national anthem.

Voters in Turkmenistan cast ballots Sunday in a parliamentary election hailed by the government as an exercise in democracy but dismissed by critics as a sham.

Voters in Turkmenistan cast ballots Sunday in a parliamentary election hailed by the government as an exercise in democracy but dismissed by critics as a sham.