Russian President Vladimir Putin commented on, among other things, Uzbekistan’s position on Russia’s war against Ukraine at a meeting with heads of foreign news agencies on 6 June.
Director general at the Uzbekistan National New Agency (UzA) Abdusaid Kuchimov noted that the events in Ukraine “have completely ousted from the global agenda the no less acute, in our opinion, Afghan issue”.
“Although there is an objective need to build interaction with the new authorities of Afghanistan to help solve socio-economic problems of the long-suffering Afghan people. Moreover, we can see the firm desire of the new Afghan government, namely the Taliban, to establish peace in the country, and to cooperate constructively with all states,” he said.
Director general at UzA Abdusaid Kuchimov. Photo: kremlin.ru.
UzA head asked Vladimir Putin about the importance of maintaining a dialogue with Afghanistan for Russia, whether the Afghan matter is now important in Russian politics, and the Russian president’s opinion on the processes around this country.
The president of Russia confirmed that his recent state visit to Uzbekistan was “very thorough, fruitful, and effective”.
“It turned out that half of the Russian government came to Tashkent, along with a large number of regional leaders of the Russian Federation. Some Russian regional leaders were pleased to communicate even with the leadership of the renewed Russian government in Tashkent, which was interesting, but they also interacted very actively among themselves. It turned out to be very useful, even unexpected for me,” he shared.
Vladimir Putin said that he had discussed the Ukraine issue with the president of Uzbekistan.
“President Mirziyoyev, of course, is actively in favor of a peaceful settlement of the Ukrainian crisis, has repeatedly spoken about Uzbekistan’s concerns on what is happening in Ukraine. But we are grateful to the president for the fact that Uzbekistan’s policy here has a clearly expressed, such a neutral character, and is very balanced,” he said.
The parties also “talked a lot” about the situation in Afghanistan, he mentioned.
“The problem Uzbekistan faces is the problem of access to the world ocean, to the seas, this is all clear. There are different options here, including the development of logistics through the territory of Afghanistan, all kinds of logistics: pipeline transport, rail transport, road transport, the supply of energy, electricity, and so on, and so forth,” he said.
Vladimir Putin noted that stability in Afghanistan is also significant for Russia.
“And we have always proceeded from the fact that we have to proceed from the realities: the Taliban controls power in Afghanistan, and, of course, it is necessary to ensure that all agreements at the UN level are implemented, including inclusive power with the participation of all ethnic groups in Afghanistan. This is a delicate, very important matter. But it is necessary to build relations with the Taliban government,” the Russian president stated.
“In general, we have contacts. I know that Afghanistan is developing this as well. We will move forward, we need to somehow establish relations with the neighboring country, especially since Uzbekistan has a long border, and it is necessary to ensure security and, I repeat, to develop logistics. We agreed that we will definitely work together on this, we will explore these opportunities,” Putin said.
- In March 2022, former minister of foreign affairs Abdulaziz Kamilov affirmed that Uzbekistan believes it is necessary to immediately stop military action in Ukraine. “Uzbekistan recognizes the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine. We have not recognized the Lugansk and Donetsk People’s Republics,” he stated.
- In February of the same year, presidential spokesperson Sherzod Asadov noted that “Uzbekistan takes a balanced, neutral stance on the matter of military actions carried out by Russia on the territory of Ukraine.” At the same time, Uzbekistan believes that all disputes and disagreements “should be resolved exclusively based on the norms of international law”, he commented.
