Good afternoon, everybody.

It is really a pleasure to be here in Turkmenistan. I want to thank our hosts for welcoming us and the hospitality that we have seen here.

There is a clear and growing appetite for cooperation between the European Union and Central Asia, on both sides.

There will be the first ever EU Central Asian Summit next week in Samarkand, and much work has already been done. Today we had very good meetings, very intense discussions, and I thank all our partners for those discussions.

Europe is the number one source of foreign direct investments across the world, and by far the largest investor in Central Asia. This has many practical benefits for the region. The development of the Trans-Caspian Transport Corridor for example is a major ongoing project, and it is good news that the European and international financial institutions are ready to mobilise over €10 billion for this.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine forced the change in trade, and there has been at least double the amount of trade through the corridor and across the Caspian Sea. But this is not just a trade route, it has the potential of connecting every country in this region better with each other, but also better with Europe.

I also underlined today to Ministers that the EU wants to increase cooperation on security issues in the region. This will be on the agenda of the leaders' summit also next week. The threat from terrorism is real, especially for those Central Asian countries bordering Afghanistan.

We are already focusing on border support, working on more on security, as well as on the living conditions of communities in border regions.

We also talked about increasing contact between people in Central Asia and people in the European Union, from business, but also academia.

And, what is very dear to my heart, is the Youth Exchange and the people to people contact in the young generation. I encouraged more participation from Central Asian countries in EU exchange programs.

Finally, we also discussed Ukraine. The coalition back in Ukraine is meeting again today in Paris. Ukraine is ready for an unconditional air, maritime and land ceasefire. Ukraine is committed to translating these ceasefires into action and advancing towards just and lasting peace.

But we see that [based on] the conditions Russia is putting forward, they do not really want peace. We need to keep up the pressure on Russia. The European Union has put 16 rounds of sanctions in place to sap Russia’s war machine, and we are working on the 17^th package.

I also reiterated the importance of fighting circumvention of our sanctions, including through Central Asia. I understand that these sanctions are also hurting your economies, but it is clear that we all want this war to stop. And in order for this war to stop, we really need to focus our efforts so that Russia cannot fund its war. Russian companies cannot be allowed to turn to Central Asia to bypass sanctions.

Ukraine is fighting for its own independence, and not only for its own independence, but also for the sovereignty and territorial integrity for us all. Now, these are the principles behind the UN Charter which, as members of United Nations, we are all duty-bound to uphold.

We also had the discussion today on many levels that the UN Charter is the basic principles of the multilateral rules-based system, which is beneficial to all. I underlined this message also to the Ministers today, but there was broad agreement on that.

I will stop here and take some questions.

Q&A.

Q: Turkmenistan is the only post-soviet state with which the European Union is yet to finalise a Comprehensive Partnership and Cooperation Agreement. We know that recently, a delegation from the European Parliament has visited Ashgabat. Any progress in this area?

Yes, of course, the interest to have this comprehensive partnership agreement is there. But we, especially the European Parliament, want to see the progress also regarding human rights, the issues regarding human rights being developed here. The respect for fundamental rights, and human rights, is a fundamental principle of the European Union, and very important. Of course, we are seeing what more steps we can take. Also, where we can help Turkmenistan in advancing in the protection of human rights, so that we can overcome these obstacles and move forward with our cooperation. Thank you.

Q: [in Russian] What is the EU going to do about Trump's car tariffs? What pressure can the EU apply in response to Trump's announced car tariffs? And what will be the EU's next steps?

Yes, thank you. Of course, we are listening to the statements that come from the White House. They have declared that there will be tariffs on oil goods on the second of April, but so far, we don't exactly know the concrete plans. We have our plans ready. If America is putting tariffs on the European Union and also on the car industry, then we are ready to also react to that – but we need to be clear that we know what are the actions taken from their side, so that we can react to the actual legal acts, not only statements.

Q: [in Russian] Turkmenistan has expressed its readiness to diversify its gas exports, including potential supplies to the EU. Can you anticipate when this might become a reality?

The European Union is interested in diversifying its energy portfolio, because we have done the mistake in the past of putting all the eggs in the same basket. We also have the green transition, so we try to get rid of fossil fuels. That is why we are considering the long-term returns. I cannot really give you concrete deadlines, because this project is diversification of the energy portfolio – which is important to us – but at the same time, we want to get rid of fossil fuels. So, we would rather see the development regarding renewable energy, also hydrogen and the future technologies in this regard. Thank you.