Asia

Asia is the central and eastern part of Eurasia and world's largest continent. Defined by subtracting Europe from Eurasia, Asia is either regarded as a landmass of its own or as part of Eurasia.

Central Asia

There is no absolute consensus in the usage of this term. Usually, Central Asia includes:

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• the Central Asian Republics of Kazakhstan (excluding its small European territory), Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Kyrgyzstan.
• Afghanistan, Mongolia, and the western regions of China are also sometimes included.
• Former Soviet states in the Caucasus region.

Central Asia is currently geopolitically important because international disputes and conflicts over oil pipelines, Nagorno-Karabakh, and Chechnya, as well as the presence of U.S. military forces in Afghanistan.

Related Topics:
Oil pipeline - Nagorno-Karabakh - Chechnya - U.S. military - Afghanistan

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