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Frank Nienhuysen, Munich
Amid bad news from the Ukraine front, Vladimir Putin will find political confidence in a fairytale place. Samarkand, the historic Silk Road city in Uzbekistan dotted with blue and turquoise mosques and madrassas, is the site of an important summit this Thursday and Friday. The Russian President will meet his Chinese colleague Xi Jinping, India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi will also be there, as will Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, and of course the heads of state of several Central Asian countries will be there.