Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, Sept.25
By Huseyn Hasanov- Trend:
As a neutral country and Afghanistan's neighbour, Turkmenistan has offered to organize an inter-Afghan national dialogue under the auspices of the UN, Foreign Minister, Deputy Prime Minister of Turkmenistan Rashid Meredov said at the UN General Assembly.
On the energy and transport front, Ashgabad highlighted the plan to construct the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India gas pipeline (TAPI) and a railway project that would run through Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, and Tajikistan (TAT).
"These projects are instrumental in the transition to peace," he said.
"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," he said.
"There is no military solution to international and internal conflicts in today's world," Meredov said.
"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 Meredov.
Turkmenistan has a long border with Afghanistan and Central Asian capitals regularly conduct activities in the field of border security under the auspices of the UN.
One of the key issues is the possible consequences of reducing the international forces in Afghanistan on regional security.
A large scale project that would see the construction of a gas pipeline to India and Pakistan for the supply of Turkmen gas is related to Afghan territory. Observers believe that its implementation could contribute to the reconstruction of Afghanistan, since it will create jobs and provide the country with a guaranteed income for transit.
Ashgabat earlier said that the construction of Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline should start in 2015.
The basic document is the Ashgabat interstate agreement of the member states signed in 2010 in Ashgabat on starting the practical implementation of the TAPI project. The formation of an international consortium for this pipeline's construction is being carried out at the moment.
Negotiations under the auspices of the United Nations for a peaceful settlement of the tense situation in Afghanistan were held in Ashgabat in the nineties of the XX century. According to the accepted Turkmen military doctrine, the country follows the status of neutrality and is not included in any of the military-political blocs.
Turkmenistan borders with Kazakhstan, Iran, Russia, Uzbekistan, and Afghanistan on land and with Azerbaijan, Russia, Kazakhstan and Iran on the Caspian Sea.