BAKU, Azerbaijan, October 14
By Fakhri Vakilov - Trend:
Hungary is grateful to Uzbekistan for the steps taken towards stability and security in the Central Asian region, especially during these uncertain times in Afghanistan, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade recently told Trend.
Hungary had airlifted over 500 people from Afghanistan, including Hungarian, Austrian, Afghan and the US nationals, flying them by military plane from Kabul to Uzbekistan, and then by commercial airline jet to Budapest.
"We appreciate the logistical assistance provided by Uzbekistan during the evacuation of Hungarian and other citizens from Afghanistan”, the ministry stated.
Hungary, an opponent of irregular migration to Europe, has rejected any plans to accommodate large numbers of Afghan refugees, and said it would only evacuate people whose lives were at risk for supporting the NATO presence in Afghanistan, according to an earlier report by Reuters.
Meanwhile, Uzbekistan, the northern neighbor of Afghanistan, has helped Western countries to evacuate thousands of Afghans by allowing planes to refuel and passengers to transit to safe, third countries.
Uzbekistan has also been temporarily hosting hundreds of Afghan pilots and their families who covertly fled Afghanistan.
Special representative of the President of Uzbekistan for Afghanistan Ismatulla Irgashev said in September that the country plans to restore transport links with Afghanistan.
"Of course, we will restore road and rail links with Afghanistan that are delivering food and medical supplies to the country. Afghan citizens really need this...," Irgashev said.
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