The U.S. Embassy in Ashgabat has responded to Vladislav Korolev, a gundogar.org reader who asked for a U.S. government response to an article by Viktor Prudnikov published in Russian on gundogar.org questioning U.S. relations with Turkmenistan, which we summarized in a blog post.
Gundogar.org's editor Arslan Mamedov told EurasiaNet that he was unable to confirm whether the author of the article, Viktor Prudnikov, is the same person as the retired Russian army general, and noted that it could be a pseudonym.
Below is the text sent by the U.S. Embassy via email.
COPY OF RESPONSE TO MR. VLADISLAV KOROLEV'S INQUIRY TO THE EMBASSY
Wednesday - June 28, 2010
Dear Mr. Korolev,
Thank you for your inquiry. Our Charge d'Affaires, a.i., Lynne Tracy, has asked me to respond on her behalf. The United States is committed to working with Turkmenistan to increase strong, prosperous ties between our two countries and to support Turkmenistan's development into an independent country that is founded on the rule of law.
The article on the website "GUNDOGAR" you reference is inaccurate and does not reflect United States -Turkmenistan bilateral relations.
As stated by Assistant Secretary of State Robert Blake, "The United States is not looking to transport military supplies through Turkmenistan, but we do have a small military cooperation program with Turkmenistan. Turkmenistan lies in a very sensitive area, near the border of Afghanistan and of course we would like to do everything we can to enhance border security, counter narcotics and other kinds of cooperation to help ensure the security of Turkmenistan."
Please visit our embassy's internet page at: http://turkmenistan.usembassy.gov , which contains news about programs and projects between the United States and Turkmenistan.
Sincerely,
Victoria S. Wolf
Acting Public Affairs Officer
This email is UNCLASSIFIED.
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