Presidents of Tajikistan, Turkmenistan not sign Treaty of Friendship

16:12, 21 июля 2022, Bishkek - 24.kg news agency , Darya PODOLSKAYA

Presidents of Tajikistan and Turkmenistan Emomali Rahmon and Serdar Berdimuhamedov did not sign the final agreement of the 4th Consultative Meeting of the Heads of Central Asian countries, held in Cholpon-Ata. Press service of the President of Kyrgyzstan reported.

The statement says that Dushanbe and Ashgabat will join the Treaty of Friendship, Good Neighborliness and Cooperation after the completion of all domestic procedures.

Earlier it was stated that the document should lay the foundation for the rapprochement of the states of the region outside the framework of the EAEU and without the participation of any additional actors.

The countries will be obliged to resolve disputes between themselves within the framework of the agreement and exclusively through dialogue, including through the creation of appropriate mechanisms for interaction, if necessary.

The draft treaty provides for a ban for the states of the region on using military force against each other.

The agreement is concluded for an indefinite period; any country can withdraw from it by written notification. Kazakhstan is the depositary of the document.

The first Consultative Meeting of the Heads of State of Central Asia was held in Nur-Sultan (2018), the second — in Tashkent (2019). In 2020, the summit was planned to be held in Kyrgyzstan, but due to the coronavirus pandemic, it was postponed for a year. Turkmenistan hosted the third meeting in August 2021.