The President of Turkmenistan and the President of the European Council held telephone talks
President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov and President of the European Council Charles Michel discussed by phone on Sunday the urgent tasks of cooperation, including maintaining peace and security in Central Asia and neighboring regions, energy security, interaction in the transport sector, ecology and water resources.
The interlocutors noted the effectiveness of partnership in such formats as the "European Union - Turkmenistan" Сommittee, the Inter-Parliamentary Dialogue, the Dialogue on Human Rights, consultative meetings between the foreign ministries and at other joint platforms. The head of the European Council noted the fruitfully developing dialogue between the EU and Turkmenistan, the information program "Vatan" of the Turkmen State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company reports.
Berdimuhamedov said that he carefully familiarized himself with Charles Michel's assessments of the situation in Afghanistan and the EU's vision of further multilateral cooperation in the Afghan direction. In this context, the Turkmen leader voiced three basic principles on which Turkmenistan's position is based on the current period of events in the IRA.
Firstly, in the political aspect, we are in favor of resolving the situation in Afghanistan exclusively by peaceful, political and diplomatic means and methods, Berdimuhamedov said. As a neighboring and neutral state, Turkmenistan is ready to assist in establishing contacts and creating conditions for the early establishment of peace in Afghanistan, the head of state emphasized.
Secondly, in the economic aspect, Turkmenistan is in favor of promoting the implementation of large infrastructure projects, in particular, the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline, power transmission lines and fiber-optic communication Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan (TAP), railways, connecting the transport systems of the two countries.
Thirdly-commitment to constant humanitarian support to the neighboring country, assistance to peacebuilding processes in Afghanistan.
Turkmenistan regularly provides humanitarian assistance to the Afghan people, this, in addition to sending humanitarian supplies, also includes the construction of schools, hospitals and mosques on the territory of Afghanistan at the expense of Turkmenistan.
Turkmenistan has always been and remains deeply interested in the internal political stability and security of Afghanistan, the well-being of the brotherly Afghan people, President Berdimuhamedov said, stressing the traditions of good-neighborliness between the peoples of the two countries.
We stand for the soonest normalization of the situation in Afghanistan, the head of Turkmenistan said and expressed confidence that new national institutions in this country will be formed in the near future in the legal field and with the broad participation of all ethnic and confessional groups of Afghanistan.
As a good neighbor of Afghanistan and a state with the status of permanent neutrality recognized by the UN, Turkmenistan is ready to continue, together with the international community, to provide all possible assistance to the Afghan people in establishing peace, civil accord and stability in the country, its socio-economic development, Berdimuhamedov said.
The head of Turkmenistan spoke in favor of stepping up the activities of the UN, OSCE and EU in assisting Afghanistan.
As for the practical measures being taken by Turkmenistan to support the neighboring country, the President noted the supply of Turkmen electricity in several directions, which makes it possible to provide electricity to its northern provinces, western and northwestern regions of the country.
It was also mentioned that the smooth operation of checkpoints on the Turkmen-Afghan border has been ensured.
At the same time, in the context of a global pandemic, in order to protect the health of the population of both countries, the state bodies of Turkmenistan maintain regular contacts with representatives of the “Taliban” movement on ensuring the protection of the State border, customs, sanitary, phytosanitary and other types of control and supervision when moving goods across the border. The bulk of these cargoes are oil products, liquefied gas, grain, consumer goods.
Speaking about the influence of the situation in Afghanistan on the situation in Central Asia as a whole, Berdimuhamedov stressed that Turkmenistan is located in a geopolitically difficult region. At the same time, the neutral status allowed the country to pursue a course towards creating conditions for a stable political dialogue in the region.
Returning to difficult times in the history of Afghanistan, when in 1996-2001 90 percent of the territory of this country was controlled by the “Taliban”, Turkmenistan continued to provide economic and humanitarian support to the Afghan people, President Berdimuhamedov said. The consulates of Turkmenistan in Mazar-i-Sharif and Herat continued to operate at that time.
In 1999-2000, Turkmenistan hosted four rounds of talks in Ashgabat between the “Taliban” and the “Northern Alliance”, which at that time was headed by Ahmad Shah Massoud. The organization of these negotiations took place with the participation of UN representatives, and both sides recognized the effectiveness of the consultations, the head of state said.
Berdimuhamedov expressed confidence that the further development of events will undoubtedly depend on the level of interaction of the new authorities with the countries of Central Asia and other states.
Turkmenistan has also always been an active participant in multilateral efforts to resolve migration crises in the world. During the turbulent events in the Central Asian region in the mid-90s of the last century, in particular in Afghanistan and Tajikistan, Turkmenistan received tens of thousands of refugees, providing them with everything they need and providing them with safe conditions for their residence on its territory, Berdimuhamedov said.
As a permanent member of the Executive Committee of the Program of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Turkmenistan has extensive experience in resolving difficult humanitarian situations of this kind and has never stood aside from these processes.
In the current difficult epidemiological conditions, it is necessary to make sensible decisions on the admission of refugees and, along with other aspects of humanitarian issues, first of all, one should seriously assess the risks of a large-scale spread of coronavirus infection, the President of Turkmenistan noted.
It was also noted that Turkmenistan provides its airspace to ensure the evacuation from Afghanistan of citizens of different countries, including European ones. From August 15 to date, dozens of overflight permits have been granted to aircrafts evacuating citizens from Afghanistan, Berdimuhamedov said, and this work will continue.
Thanking the President of the European Council for a frank and constructive dialogue on issues of concern to the entire international community today, Berdimuhamedov confirmed Turkmenistan's readiness to consolidate efforts for the peaceful and stable development of the region, and also invited EC President Charles Michel to celebrate Day of Neutrality of Turkmenistan. The head of the European Council accepted this invitation with gratitude.
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