On the meeting with mass media dedicated to the outcomes of the official visit of

President of Turkmenistan to Uzbekistan

On the invitation of the President of Uzbekistan Islam Karimov the official visit of the President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdymuhamedov to Uzbekistan took place on February 24-25, 2009.

On the outcomes of the negotiations a news conference with participation of presidents was held during which the sides have assessed the state and prospects of bilateral relations, discussed situation in the Central Asian region, as well as expressed their vision of the ways and mechanisms of addressing the pressing regional and international issues. A particular attention was paid to resolving the Afghan problem and the management of water resources in Central Asia.

Assessing the situation in Afghanistan President Islam Karimov has said that as early as in April 2008 at the NATO/EAPC Bucharest Summit Uzbekistan made proposals the essence of which is as follows:

First. There is no military solution to the Afghan problem. This stance is acquiring a growing support on the part of the states involved in peace-making operation in Afghanistan.

Second. A serious attention should be paid to the solution of pressing social problems associated with poverty and unemployment. During 30 years of war the living standards and social state of the Afghans have worsened; the unemployment rate reached 60-70%. In such circumstances, various segments of the population and, above all, young people are forced to seek sources of means for existence. This creates a fertile ground for recruitment into the ranks of “Taliban” and other groups, as well as to encourage the active involvement in drug trafficking.

President Islam Karimov has noted that the Afghan problem cannot be solved ignoring the opinion of people, religious and national peculiarities of the Afghans. Afghanistan is a multi-faith, multiethnic state, which is inhabited by different ethnicities that have their own approaches to resolving the problems of this country. The historical experience of various wars in Afghanistan with involvement of external forces has clearly demonstrated that it is necessary to take into account the people's mentality and their religiousness, and respect, but not defy this religion.

Regarding the resumption of activity of the «6+2» Contact Group on Afghanistan, which operated under the UN auspices, the Uzbek Leader pointed to the necessity of its expansion by converting it into «6+3» format, consisting of six states bordering on Afghanistan, as well as the US and Russia, with inclusion of NATO, which is the active participant in the international coalition.

The meaning of this initiative is as follows – this problem cannot be solved without participation of countries surrounding Afghanistan, which are suffering this calamity more than others for thirty years.

In this regard, in any case, in one form or another, this decision will be taken since without such approach resolution of the Afghan problem is impossible. If the issues related to comprehensive solution of the Afghan problem are not going to be resolved it can be even worse and those countries, whose troops are in Afghanistan as peacekeeping forces, tomorrow will turn into occupants.

Uzbekistan continues to contribute to stabilization of the situation in Afghanistan, particularly, in the form of participation in projects on supply of electricity power, construction of “Termez - Mazari-Sharif” railroad via Khayraton, where the main contractor will be the Uzbek side.

Speaking about the transit of goods through Uzbekistan, President Islam Karimov said that during the recent visit of the Commander of Central Command of the U.S. Armed Forces General David Petraeus to Uzbekistan, an agreement was reached on implementing the transit of the non-military goods by the US through the territory of Uzbekistan to Afghanistan on the conditions of strict compliance with laws functioning on the territory of Uzbekistan.

Referring to the situation related to coverage of the issues of non-military goods transit by foreign media, President Islam Karimov has underscored: “... we are ready to participate in the transit of non-military cargo through the territory of Uzbekistan.

Many countries say “yes, so we are” and this is broadly covered by television and newspapers. However, if the cargo is intended for Afghanistan will not pass through Uzbekistan, how will they get there? Resounding statements that “we are ready”, “we have already signed” are made though.... The goods will come from all sides, but what will be the final destination? They will surely come to Termez bridge across the Amudarya River. Therefore, the consent of Uzbekistan for transit through its territory of those goods - costs a lot. Therefore, it is also must be reckoned with.

We have repeatedly underlined that in respect of relations with Afghanistan we do not hold to the bloc-wise thinking. We proceed from the interests of Uzbekistan only and those relationships that develop between the Republic of Uzbekistan and Afghanistan.

We do not agree with the participation of mediators or institutions that wish to implement it in the form of a bloc approach.

As stated by President of Uzbekistan Islam Karimov, in Uzbekistan it is believed that the decision to wage war in Afghanistan in 1979 was made without taking into account the interests of Uzbekistan, which was a part of the former USSR. “... We were not asked - who needed that war? Those losses and what we now have as a neighbor of Afghanistan, it is an outcome of the decision that was made absolutely without taking into account the interests of Uzbekistan and other neighbors of Afghanistan. We believe that again taking a group-based decision today is to step on the same rake (to drop a brick once again). Each country must decide itself how to behave in relation with Afghanistan, proceeding from its own interests and the interests of Afghanistan...”

Addressing the issue of urgency of reasonable water management of transboundary rivers in Central Asia, President Islam Karimov pointed out that the problem had been existing for many centuries. But the utmost urgency it has gotten during the last years due to the active discussions about construction of hydropower stations in the upper reaches of Amudarya and Syrdarya.

President of Uzbekistan Islam Karimov emphasized that “two great rivers of the region - Amudarya and Syrdarya – nourish the whole Central Asia and part of Kazakhstan. It is spoken about a new interference in the distribution of water resources. Too many “great” ponds, “great” water reservoirs and hydropower stations were built in the Soviet times and impacts of that we are feeling now. According to the assessments of environmentalists, any interference into distribution of water resources and water management, any violation of original development of nature are intolerable. If we look at it through this kind of perspective, we will see that such a gross violation of natural processes always leads to not very pleasant results. And not only this, but the next following generations will suffer from that”.

President Islam Karimov has stated that “given the conditions of great water deficit this issue was raised, moreover, it started to create problems and tensions in relations”. The Uzbek Leader pointed out that the supply of water resources of countries in the region accounts for 70%. There is a saying in the East: “There is no life without water”. Therefore, we must more cautiously deal with those problems. We clearly see that each year there appears less useful soil for feeding people and getting food. There are droughts, water-logging and desertification. I would like to say about it in detail in order to explain what the water problems do mean for the countries in this region”.

President of Uzbekistan has underscored that the water-energy projects which started to be discussed raise many interpretations. President Islam Karimov pointed out that “there is even one interpretation which is actively used, first of all, by Russian scholars and mass media.

There are statements that this issue is allegedly insoluble problem of the region.

It means that states and nations of the region are not able to come to an agreement between one another. Therefore, in order to solve the problem the participation of a particular third party with great resources is needed”.

Uzbekistan considers such kind of interpretation as absolutely intolerable. As President Islam Karimov has underscored that “the nations have been living on this territory for millennia, absolutely different states were here, but those issues used to be solved. The statement that the problem is insolvable pursues absolutely different goals.”

According to the President Islam Karimov “if we look at the position of Uzbekistan we will see that it is understandable, clear and precise. We are not against construction of those hydropower stations, if it goes in line with the interests of not only two countries, but also comforts the interests of all countries and nations in the region. Why the populace of the lower reaches of rivers have to suffer from great hardships tomorrow. To explain that to the people of those countries is very difficult”.
President Islam Karimov stated that Uzbekistan stood ready to participate in those projects and pointed out the necessity to conduct an unbiased international examination.

President of Uzbekistan believes that it is necessary to receive answers to the two simple questions. “First. If those huge hydropower stations are to be constructed, will those countries at the lower reaches of the transboundary rivers, in particular, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, receive less water tomorrow? What is about desiccation of the Aral Sea? Please, answer to those questions and demonstrate how the water flow will change and in what volumes we are not going to get that water without which we already have quite difficult times. I repeat that the supply of water resources of countries in the region now accounts for only 70%. And if the hydropower stations are built there will it make the situation worse?”

Regarding the second question President Islam Karimov said: “Will the environment of the region change or not? If they say that the environment will not change and the water will be supplied in the same volume as we receive now, personally me and Uzbekistan will not have any questions.

Is it so difficult to conduct unbiased examination under the auspices of the UN with fully disinterested and unbiased experts? In other words, we talk about unbiased examination. Is it difficult to conduct such an examination and answer to very simple questions?

Thus, I conclude that the problem is solvable, if the examination shows that there is not going to be any damage. And if there are going to be problems with water flow and environment then the international structures must help us. But even in this case, the issue is solvable, however, it must not be politicized. One should not transform it into the problem which could be solved only by the “divide and rule” approach. We must not allow that to happen”.