Crossword Genius

Leader of Turkmenistan, I predict, is in Asia (5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

tibet

'in asia' is the definition.
('Tibet' is part of 'asia')

'leader of turkmenistan i predict' is the wordplay.
'leader of' suggests taking the first letters.
'predict' becomes 'bet' (betting is a kind of predicting).
The initial letter of 'turkmenistan' is 't'.
't'+'i'+'bet'='TIBET'

'is' acts as a link.

(Other definitions for tibet that I've seen before include "Nominally autonomous region of China" , "High place" , "Chinese region" , "hilly region" , "Dalai Lama's land" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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