Skirmishes continued around the still undefined border, now more than eight months after Azerbaijan reversed three decades of humiliation by retaking long-occupied areas.

Uzbekistan and Pakistan vowed to increase the volume of bilateral trade by five times.

Germany and the United States, during Merkel’s final visit as Chancellor to Washington, concentrated their efforts not on whether the pipeline should be completed but rather on how Ukraine might be compensated if it loses its status as a transit country for Russian gas.