US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken held talks with Kyrgyz Foreign Minister Jeenbek Kulubaev in Astana on the sidelines of a C5+1 meeting with Central Asian foreign ministers to highlight the importance of bilateral relations between the US and the Kyrgyz Republic. The meeting was announced yesterday by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kyrgyzstan.
The US State Department also posted a release on the talks. it's version is different, 24.kg reported.
The statement says that Anthony Blinken highly appreciated the efforts of Kyrgyzstan to strengthen regional ties, diversify the economy and deepen bilateral commercial relations. The parties discussed opportunities to support economic development and investment in green energy.
The US Secretary of State praised Kyrgyzstan's efforts to repatriate 59 Kyrgyz from northeastern Syria with the support of the United States.
The meeting also discussed the situation around journalists and the media. However, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kyrgyzstan did not mention this at all in its message.
The US State Department said in a statement: "The Secretary of State emphasized the need to protect human rights and fundamental freedoms, including freedom of peaceful assembly, as well as to protect freedom of the media, the work of NGOs and civil society."
CentralasianLIGHT.org
March 1, 2023