The elephant in the room ATM is the reorientation of the Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan autocracies towards BOTH China and Europe.
The relationship between the "Stans" and Butcher Putin has soured under the surface. This stance may shift again in the post-Putin world but then again it may not. What happens will depend on who and what takes over from Putin.
Should Russia disintegrate, the "Stans" may become the primary Belt and Road conduit to MENA and the EU.
