Rubio meets Turkmen foreign minister in Washington

WASHINGTON

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio met Wednesday with Turkmenistan’s Foreign Minister Rashid Meredov in Washington, according to the State Department.

Rubio “reiterated the United States’ commitment to continue working with Turkmenistan to expand economic and commercial ties, promote regional integration through the C5+1 diplomatic platform, and strengthen regional security,” Deputy Spokesperson Tommy Pigott said in a statement.

The C5+1 was formed under former President Barack Obama during the 2015 UN General Assembly. It is the US's main dialogue platform with five Central Asian countries, including Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

Rubio thanked Meredov for Turkmenistan’s assistance with American citizens fleeing Iran during a 12-day war between Israel and Iran in June.

Separately, Pigott said that Washington and Ashgabat held the 11th round of their Annual Bilateral Consultations on Wednesday, co-chaired by Meredov and Deputy Assistant Secretary for South and Central Asian Affairs John Mark Pommersheim.

“The United States encouraged Turkmenistan’s further collaboration on bilateral and regional security issues,” he said.

“The United States is looking forward to continuing working together with Turkmenistan to overcome joint challenges and celebrate further bilateral successes in the coming year,” he added.