Message for the Media

In connection with the tendentious reports disseminated by Ukrainian mass media about Turkmenistan, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan declares the following:

The Turkmen side expresses its protest regarding the biased and inaccurate information broadcast on July 8 of this year by the Ukrainian television channel “FREEДОМ” concerning the alleged “closeness” of Turkmenistan in the context of internet access.

It is extremely perplexing: what right do representatives of the aforementioned channel — who have no real understanding of modern Turkmenistan, have never visited our country, and have no contacts with representatives of its state and public institutions, nor with their colleagues, Turkmen journalists — have to disseminate such information?!

It should be noted that this is not the first time that the “FREEДОМ” television channel misinforms its audience by broadcasting knowingly implausible and distorted information about Turkmenistan.

All of this is occurring against the backdrop of many years of economic and humanitarian support provided by the Turkmen side to the Ukrainian people throughout the entire period of Turkmenistan’s independence.

For example, since the 1990s, Turkmenistan supplied natural gas to Ukraine for many years in significant volumes. In addition, a number of Ukrainian companies during this time implemented numerous projects in Turkmenistan in the fields of energy, road and transport, communications, infrastructure, and other areas worth billions of US dollars. These companies continue to operate in our country to this day.

In light of the above, representatives of certain Ukrainian media outlets should remember the great significance and value of the well-known truth: “good should be repaid with good,” and not the opposite.

Based on the foregoing, the Turkmen side demands that the relevant state authorities of Ukraine responsible for information policy take the necessary measures, in accordance with Ukrainian legislation, to prevent the recurrence of the aforementioned incidents in the future.

Press Service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan