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Turkmenistan leader says UN must lead in preserving stability, strengthening faith in institutions

Foreign Minister Rashid Meredov of Turkmenistan addresses the General Assembly.
UN Photo/Yubi Hoffmann
Foreign Minister Rashid Meredov of Turkmenistan addresses the General Assembly.

Turkmenistan leader says UN must lead in preserving stability, strengthening faith in institutions

There is no military solution to international and internal conflicts in today’s world, Turkmenistan’s Foreign Minister, Rashid Meredov, told the General Assembly today, urging the United Nations to take the lead role in resolving contradictions, preserving stability, and strengthening faith in institutions.

On a regional level, Turkmenistan supports Central Asian partnerships that strengthen conditions for maintaining lasting peace and stability and successfully reacting to terrorist threats, extremism, organized crime and drug trafficking. As a neutral country and Afghanistan’s immediate neighbour, Turkmenistan has offered to organize an inter-Afghan national dialogue under the auspices of the UN, he said.

On the energy and transport front, Mr. Meredov highlighted the plan to construct the Turkmenistan-Pakistan-India gas pipeline and a railway project that would run through Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, and Tajikistan. While these projects are instrumental in the transition to peace, the most important prerequisite for peace is disarmament, said Mr. Meredov.

“We stand for consistent strengthening of international and regional cooperation in reducing the arsenals of weapons of mass destruction and effective implementation of the non-proliferation regime,” said Mr. Meredov.

He called on the UN to get involved in the systematic and strategic planning in the transport sphere. The Ashgabat Declaration adopted at the end of a transport conference in Turkmenistan’s capital earlier this month reflects the need for cooperation to develop transportation infrastructure and to take into consideration the needs of developing countries, including landlocked States.