On 25 June 2025, during his visit to Ashgabat, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov delivered an address at the Yyldyz Hotel to the leadership and staff of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan, as well as faculty members and students of the Institute of International Relations under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Following his remarks, the head of Russian diplomacy engaged with the audience, answering questions on pressing international issues.
Sergey Lavrov emphasized that Turkmenistan, thanks to its unique status of permanent neutrality, unanimously recognized by the UN three times, could serve as a platform for numerous international negotiations. He noted that Turkmenistan’s foreign policy principles are universal and could provide a reliable foundation for dialogue between various parties.
The Russian Foreign Minister expressed support for initiatives aimed at ensuring security in Eurasia. He particularly highlighted the proposals of Turkmenistan’s President Serdar Berdimuhamedov and Chinese President Xi Jinping, noting their alignment with Russian President Vladimir Putin’s idea of forming a Eurasian security architecture.
“The initiatives of Berdimuhamedov and Xi Jinping align with the proposal of the Russian President. There is no competition between such proposals, and there never will be; they share a common conceptual foundation,” Lavrov stressed.
Lavrov noted that Beijing’s global security proposals “contain a number of principles applicable to resolving any crisis situations, the most important of which is the need to focus on the root causes of any conflict and then work to eliminate those causes.”
Eurasian security
Russia’s Foreign Minister expressed Moscow’s readiness to welcome Turkmenistan’s participation in the development of a Eurasian Security Charter.
Together with Belarus, Russia proposes to draft a Eurasian Charter of Diversity and Multipolarity in the 21st Century. This programmatic document, which could potentially be adopted at a continent-wide summit, would outline the framework for a Eurasian security architecture and the parameters for state interactions in a multipolar world, based on the principles of the UN Charter.
“Turkmenistan’s role in the new architecture as a neutral state and a member of the Central Asian “five” can be very significant. And we see the interest of our Turkmen friends in using their unique, without exaggeration, opportunities to help find solutions to various conflicts that persist in our common space,” Lavrov stressed.
He recalled that Turkmenistan is the only country whose full neutral status has been officially recognized three times unanimously by the UN General Assembly. And this gives additional weight to Turkmenistan’s interest in providing its mediation services.
“We welcome the participation of Turkmenistan and other concerned countries in this work. Strengthening comprehensive partnership, alliance, and cooperation with our Central Asian friends based on respect for sovereignty, equality, and mutual consideration of each other’s interests is one of the top priorities of Russian diplomacy,” Lavrov said.
On Turkmen-Russian relations
Here is an excerpt from Lavrov’s speech concerning Turkmen-Russian relations:
Today, Russia and Turkmenistan are advancing bilateral dialogue on the principles of neighbourliness, respect, and mutual consideration of interests. The Declaration on Enhanced Strategic Partnership signed by our respective presidents in Moscow in 2022 serves as a cornerstone for deepening ties across a broad range of areas including trade, energy, transport, digital technologies, education, culture, and information and biological security.
Parliamentary diplomacy has become an integral part of our relations. Legislators from both countries maintain contact, and thanks to their proactive stance, the Ashgabat Format was created. In 2022, the first Russia-Central Asia Interparliamentary Forum was held.
Today, we discussed preparations for its second session. We are also keen to institutionalise women parliamentarians’ conferences under the Inter-Parliamentary Union.
Humanitarian cooperation holds a special place in our partnership. We highly value Turkmenistan’s respectful and enthusiastic attitude towards the Russian language, literature, and culture. The Russian Drama Theatre in Ashgabat enjoys great popularity, and the joint Russian-Turkmen Alexander Pushkin School operates successfully. The Russian language is widely taught in your country’s educational institutions.
In Russia, the Turkmen language is taught in universities and a specialised school in the Astrakhan Region, which is home to a compact Turkmen diaspora. In the near future, we plan to implement a major project to establish a Russian-Turkmen University.
Today, my colleague and friend, Deputy Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan R.O. Meredov and I discussed the preparation of an intergovernmental agreement on this issue. We pay great attention to youth exchanges. We propose to expand the productive cooperation between the Institute of International Relations of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan and MGIMO of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia, as well as to develop ties between aspiring international specialists of the two countries with the assistance of the Council of Young Diplomats of our Foreign Ministry.
We are working to further unlock the large-scale potential of trade and economic cooperation. Russia remains one of Turkmenistan’s largest partners. In the first three months of this year alone, the trade turnover grew by more than 21%. This is not the limit, given the potential of our countries’ economies.
I would like to note that new major joint projects are being discussed within the framework of the Intergovernmental Russian-Turkmen Commission on Economic Cooperation. The participation of Deputy Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers of Turkmenistan N.H.Atagulyev in the XXVIII St. Petersburg International Economic Forum was useful and productive in this regard. N.H.Atagulyev will head the Turkmen part of the Intergovernmental Commission. On our part, the Co-chairman will be Deputy Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation Mikhail Khusnullin. They agreed that they would hold a meeting in the near future to prepare for a full-fledged regular meeting of the Intergovernmental Commission.
The unique geographical location of our countries creates good opportunities for the development of transport corridors. In this context, we are working closely to improve the efficiency of the eastern route of the North-South International Transport Corridor, which connects Russia and Iran through Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan and is of strategic importance for the development of transport routes in this part of Eurasia.
Russia has great respect for Turkmenistan’s wise choice in favor of permanent neutrality. I would like to once again congratulate our friends on the upcoming anniversary – the 30th anniversary of this significant milestone of Turkmenistan’s statehood.
The concept of positive neutrality has received a new meaning and content, thanks to the personal efforts and energy of G.M.Berdimuhamedov. The unifying international initiatives of Turkmenistan: dialogue as a guarantee of peace; the zone of peace, trust and cooperation in Central Asia; the declaration of this year as the International Year of Peace and Trust continue to make a significant contribution to the preservation of peace and stability in the region and beyond.
The idea of an equal interstate dialogue based on respect for the rights and interests of all its participants, which Turkmenistan promotes, is close and consonant with Russian approaches. The convergence of our positions on key issues of our time is the key to effective joint work in a number of multilateral formats, including Russia – Central Asia. Though relatively new, this platform has quickly become a sought-after venue for exchanging views on cooperation and international politics.
In 2022, the Russia–Central Asia summit was held for the first time. It was held in Astana. A second summit is scheduled before the end of this year, which will approve a plan for joint action between the Central Asian countries and Russia in the near future. This plan will become a roadmap for cooperation in key areas and will help launch industry mechanisms for six countries.
We attach special importance to cooperation with Turkmenistan within the framework of the Commonwealth of Independent States. As an associate member of the CIS, your country makes a significant contribution to its activities. Since 2019, a program to enhance partnership between the foreign ministries of the CIS countries, adopted on the initiative of Ashgabat, has been successfully implemented.
Next year, which will mark the 35th anniversary of the Commonwealth, Turkmenistan will preside over the CIS. I am confident that Ashgabat will successfully cope with this honorable and responsible mission. We will do our best to support our Turkmen friends in the implementation of these powers.
We see good prospects for establishing cooperation between Turkmenistan and the Eurasian Economic Union. Joining the Union (and there are various forms for this) would open up new opportunities for the implementation of mutually beneficial projects.
We are successfully cooperating in the Caspian Sea. There has been a lot of discussion about this during the negotiations today. We share a special responsibility for its preservation and rational use. It is obvious that the primary interests of all the “Caspian Five” countries are the maintenance of peace, stability and security in the Caspian region, its sustainable development based on the principles of good-neighborliness, trust and cooperation of coastal states, the realization of the economic, including transit potential of the Caspian Sea for the benefit of coastal States and ensuring the proper state of the environment of this important water body.
The formation of a regional “Caspian community” for the benefit of our countries and peoples is on the agenda. Russia’s proposal to establish the Caspian Council is in this vein. We are ready to work closely with our Turkmen friends to achieve these goals.
We face significant challenges in both our bilateral and international affairs. Yet I am confident that the new generation of Turkmen diplomats present here will uphold the tradition of honoring our shared history, build upon today’s diplomatic accomplishments, reinforce Turkmenistan’s policy of neutrality, and actively foster the continued development of friendly relations and strategic cooperation between our countries. ///nCa, 25 June 2025 [Based on TASS reports/MFA Russia press releases]