U.S. State Department comments on Uzbekistan’s cooperation with the EAEU

The United States is not going to compete with Russia for influence over the Central Asian countries, the U.S. State Department said, summing up the results of the talks held recently between Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and his colleagues from five Central Asian republics, Kommersant writes.

The main topics of the online conference were the upcoming withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan, economic cooperation in the region and the fight against the coronavirus pandemic.

On Wednesday, reporters were told in detail about the results of the meeting by the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Central Asia Affairs Jonathan Henick. According to him, the United States benefits from Central Asia being a more secure, more prosperous region, and its countries are free to choose from various options of development.

He also noted that “only during the current crisis, the U.S. allocated $25 million” for various measures to combat the coronavirus in the region.

At the same time, according to the diplomat, the United States “continues to work with the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund in order to allocate additional support to Central Asia”.

Answering a question from Kommersant about Washington’s attitude towards the upcoming entry of Uzbekistan into the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) as an observer, Mr. Henick made it clear that the United States is not going to compete with Moscow for influence over the Central Asian republics. “I cannot comment on these negotiations because the United States is not a member of the EAEU. The discussion with the participation of Uzbekistan continues. All I know is that this issue is very worrying for the people of Uzbekistan. We support the citizens of Uzbekistan in an effort to expand access to world markets and investments. We hope that the people of Uzbekistan will carefully consider all possible local blocs and trade relations, and WTO membership in order to choose what is most beneficial for them,” the American diplomat said.