U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) reports their commander, General Michael Kurilla, visited Ashgabat to meet with Turkmenistan's military leaders, Chief of General Staff Akmurat Anemetov, Defence Minister Begench Gundogdiyev, and Deputy Foreign Minister Vepa Hajiyev.
"We respect Turkmenistan’s doctrine of ‘positive neutrality’ and are united in support of the territorial integrity and stability of the Central Asian states," Kurilla was quoted as saying.
The interlocutors discussed methods to strengthen their security partnership.
The Turkmen side commended the State Partnership Program established in 2021 between the Armed Forces of Turkmenistan and the Montana National Guard.
The U.S. delegation visited the People's Memorial honoring Turkmen who fell in the wars, the Independence Monument, and a sculpture of the Turkmen classic poet Makhtumkuli.
Kurilla, according to the information, "observed the wondrous Turkmen culture and even had an opportunity to ride the country’s world-renowned Aktal-Teke horses."
The Turkmen Foreign Ministry said a particular aspect of the talks was an exchange of views on the situation in the region and Afghanistan.
The parties also touched upon issues of bilateral cooperation in such areas as cybersecurity, information exchange, and information security.
Turkmenistan has had a status of positive neutrality since 1995 and is not a member of any military-political bloc. However, the Central Asian country has a long border with Afghanistan, to which several regional projects are connected. These include the construction of the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Tajikistan (TAT) railway, the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline, power lines, and a fiber-optic cable along the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan (TAP) route.
Observers believe these projects can contribute to Afghanistan's reconstruction by creating jobs and providing guaranteed transit revenues.
Credits: Eziz Boyarov, Ashgabat
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