US envoy hails opening of authoritarian Turkmenistan

0 Comments | AFP, May, 2008

ASHGABAT, Turkmenistan (AFP) — A senior US envoy on Wednesday praised what he called a political thaw in authoritarian Turkmenistan, a gas-rich ex-Soviet republic being courted by energy hungry Western powers.

"As Turkmenistan has opened up, our relations have seen steady progress over the past year and we look forward to continuing our cooperation," said US Assistant Secretary of State Richard Boucher, after what he said were "very positive" talks with President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov.

In comments distributed by the US embassy, Boucher highlighted cooperation with Ashgabat in helping war-torn Afghanistan and in developing a "healthy political system and human rights" in Turkmenistan.

He also praised cooperation on education and health reform.

...

Premium Content Partnership | MyWire provides an in-depth online archive library of reference works. MyWire
 

BNET TalkbackShare your ideas and expertise on this topic

Please add your comment:

  1. You are currently: a Guest |
  2.  

Basic HTML tags that work in comments are: bold (<b></b>), italic (<i></i>), underline (<u></u>), and hyperlink (<a href></a)