On June 10, Russian President Vladimir Putin met with Turkmen President Serdar Berdimuhamedov. Special Correspondent “Kommersant” Andrey Kolesnikov draws attention to the fact that an outstanding state visit was marred only at the very end by the inexperience of the new Turkmen president.
— Dear Serdar Gurbangulyevich! – the Russian president said on the fly, without a hitch, at the beginning of the meeting in the Grand Kremlin Palace.
Such a level of guests with such visits has not been in the Kremlin for a long time. Many journalists were accredited to the meeting, who had already forgotten what its walls looked like since December last year. Representatives of foreign agencies (there were no foreign agents, while there were AFP, AP … No, these are not foreign agents) filled the Malachite Lounge of the Kremlin, which was also a surprise: the Catherine Hall in the First Building was still used for official statements and press conferences. Everyone there was so far apart that it was hard to shout. But you can (I know).
Obviously, the coronavirus crisis is indeed slowly becoming a painful past. (True, this does not mean that it is being replaced by a cloudless present. No, other clouds are gathering.) Even the quarantine period for participating in such events has been reduced from two weeks to ten days (this does not apply to the president, for example, of Turkmenistan: it is enough for him to pass medical test for reliability). However, journalists working in the “dirty” zone are still taking three PCR tests so far. War is war, and PCR tests are on schedule.
The journalists were worried. It seemed to many that something necessarily fateful would be announced (otherwise, why did they call him?). I must say right away that if we consider the Declaration on the deepening of the strategic partnership between Russia and Turkmenistan as fateful, then they did not come in vain.
Meanwhile, the desire to see many journalists at once at this event could have been caused by a natural desire to simply fill the Malachite Living Room with sitting and even crowding people so that the President of Turkmenistan, the son of the speaker of the Turkmen parliament Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, who is making his first state visit abroad, would not feel lonely in it and he understood that he was expected here (although statements are expected from Mr. Putin).
However, the negotiations began in the morning in another drawing room, where almost no one was there and almost nothing was said. The President of Russia conveyed greetings to Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, and Serdar Berdimuhamedov conveyed greetings from Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov to Vladimir Putin (“Dear Gurbanguly Myalikgulyevich Berdimuhamedov also conveyed his greetings to you – I would like to convey it to you,” said Serdar Gurbangulyevich Berdimuhamedov.— A.K.).
For all the time of public statements on this day, family ties between the former and current presidents of Turkmenistan were not only not emphasized, but even discovered. Vladimir Putin and Serdar Berdimuhamedov protected them from prying eyes. Nobody even suspected.
Serdar Berdimuhamedov spoke in writing, and when he raised his eyes, it seemed to be too high, so he seemed to be looking somewhere much higher than the cameras and video cameras. Maybe next time it will be right, that is, Serdar Berdimuhamedov will correct his vision and look lower, that is, into people’s eyes.
Or maybe, on the contrary, this makes sense: when you speak, look into the distance inaccessible to ordinary people. And it was perhaps the respected Gurbanguly Myalikgulyevich Berdimuhamedov who taught him this, just by acquaintance.
— Today, Turkmenistan not only buys a large amount of automotive, marine and aviation equipment from the Russian Federation (and you are still wondering who will buy new Moskvichs.— A.K.), but also, of course, it provides an opportunity for Russian companies to actively participate in the implementation of economic projects in our country…,” the President of the country stated. “And, taking this opportunity, I would like to invite you to pay an official visit to Turkmenistan at any time convenient for you .
– Thanks! the Russian President thanked him from the bottom of his heart. “I will definitely take advantage of your invitation.
And they say he doesn’t go anywhere. They just rarely called.
The conversations, which included breakfast, were brief and lasted less than two hours (they will make up during the return visit).
And in the Malachite Room, the entire right half was occupied by members of the Turkmen delegation, and the left half by journalists. The Russian delegation was represented by no one.
But it was impossible not to pay attention to the Turkmen delegation. Several rows of chairs were occupied by people in exactly the same dark suits, black jackets and white shirts with identical badges in the lapels. They sat close to each other and, uniformly bowing their heads, wrote down every word, first of Vladimir Putin, then of Serdar Berdimuhamedov (it seemed that they even swayed all around to the beat of each recorded word, especially moving from line to line). Or rather, they did not have time to record each, of course, especially since they constantly had to be interrupted by stormy and lengthy ones. But they tried very hard, as if their future and the future of their children depended on it. And because it depended.
One cannot fail to say that, in the best traditions of relations with the eastern neighbors, the Turkmen president received the Order of Friendship from the Russian Federation. It would seem that he has just begun to work as president – and now it’s time.
– Both now, as head of state, and before being elected president, you have consistently advocated and continue to advocate the development of friendly, truly close partnerships with Russia, the Russian president noted.
He added:
— I will mention, in particular, that Gazprom is cooperating with the Turkmengas concern to organize gas exports from Turkmenistan under a long-term contract that provides for the possibility of Russia buying gas from Turkmenistan (now, perhaps, there will be no such urgent need.— A.K.). LUKOIL is negotiating the terms of participation as an operator of the project for the development of the Dostluk oil and gas condensate field in the Caspian Sea (now it may not be conducted.— A.K.) … Other large Russian energy and industrial companies are also showing interest in the implementation of projects in Turkmenistan – Inter RAO, Power Machines (now not so sincere.— A.K.).
There was a reason to once again put the United States in its place (now we are not shy for any convenient reason, but ideally – without any reason):
“We are ready to continue,” Mr. Putin said, “joint work with Turkmenistan and other partners, including within the framework of the Moscow format of consultations: Russia, India, Iran, the United States, China, Pakistan and the five Central Asian republics, on the post-conflict reconstruction of Afghanistan. At the same time, in our firm conviction, the main obligations for the reconstruction of Afghanistan, primarily financial, should be assumed by the United States of America and its allies, whose 20-year presence has brought this country to a critical point.
In addition, the following came to light:
“It is gratifying,” Vladimir Putin said, “that Russia and Turkmenistan are cooperating as partners in the fight against the spread of coronavirus infection. Last year, the Turkmen side was supplied with 330,000 Sputnik V vaccine kits, in January of this year – 800,000 doses of Sputnik Light, of which 300,000 were free of charge.
It is interesting here that until recently Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov claimed that in Turkmenistan for more than two years there has not been a single case of a detected coronavirus disease. The vaccine still works!
But Serdar Berdimuhamedov clarified:
— In the course of the fight against the coronavirus pandemic, Turkmenistan and the Russian Federation showed a brilliant example of solidarity! We are grateful to the leadership of the Russian Federation for the prompt response to our request for the supply of vaccines, medicines and medical supplies…
Ah here is why pro medicines was to speak? So everything went well.
So I believed in everything again.