Transcript
Round 1 — Opening Plenary
Kazakhstanopening-statement
Kazakhstan thanks the SRSG and UNRCCA for convening us. We come as a neighbor invested in one goal above all: de-escalation. The 2022 Kyrgyz-Tajik clashes, three years of drought, and 110 kilometers of contested frontier demand cooler heads, not new ultimatums. Our headline priorities are three. First, a practical de-escalation framework that restores calm and the status quo ante on demarcation, built through dialogue rather than binding commitments imposed at one summit. Second, mutually respectful management of shared Syr Darya and Amu Darya waters, a resource whose stewardship is a matter of sovereignty for every state here. Third, connectivity: expanded rail, pipeline, and Middle Corridor links that make our commodities and yours flow to markets. Kazakhstan will decide its own partners freely, and we invite Uzbekistan, China, and India to build these bridges with us. We are here to broker, not to dictate.
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Uzbekistanopening-statement
Uzbekistan thanks the SRSG and welcomes this dialogue in a spirit of good neighborliness. Our people share the Fergana Valley's soil, water, and future, and Tashkent comes to de-escalate, not to inflame. Three principles frame our approach. First, on borders: the existing frontier is settled and sovereign; we support confidence-building measures and a return to the status quo, not reopening lines that history and our foreign ministers have already fixed. Second, on water: fresh water is the lifeblood of our farmers and our security. We favor collaborative, equitable management of the Syr Darya and stand ready to import and trade resources with our neighbors. Third, on prosperity: lower trade barriers, open energy corridors, and joint counterterrorism serve every delegation here. Uzbekistan seeks working frameworks, not hasty final deals. We look to Kazakhstan and all partners to build regional stability together.
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Kyrgyzstanopening-statement
Kyrgyzstan thanks the Secretary-General and the SRSG for convening us, and pledges full support for this UN-led mediation. We come to de-escalate. Our people still bear the scars of September 2022; over one hundred thousand were displaced. Our headline priority is a swift return to, and locking-in of, the status quo demarcation across the disputed Fergana frontier, including exclaves. Kyrgyz sovereign territory is not negotiable, and Kyrgyz water is the lifeblood of our people, land, and livestock. We anchor firmly on both. That said, we come as builders. We welcome equitable, science-based water stewardship and meaningful ICWC reform, and we value confidence-building with our neighbors, particularly Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, with whom we share deep regional kinship. We are open to modern water-management technology and to infrastructure partnerships that respect Kyrgyz labor and sovereignty. Let us reason together as principled partners.
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Tajikistanopening-statement
Distinguished colleagues, Tajikistan comes to Ashgabat to de-escalate the Fergana Valley crisis and restore calm. Our headline priorities are three: the inviolability of Tajik territorial integrity, a return to the pre-crisis status quo on demarcation, and the protection of our water as a sovereign resource. Let me be clear from the outset: no Tajik territory will be traded, and no final border settlement can be concluded at this summit — such matters belong to later foreign-minister talks. We favor incremental adjustments only, secured by verifiable, neutral-observer confidence-building measures and reciprocal troop limits. On water, we welcome a genuine, mutual Central Asian resource-management framework and outside technical assistance. We come as constructive partners in regional integration, trade, and counter-extremism cooperation. We look to Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, and China as partners in building a stable, Central Asian-centered order. Tajikistan seeks frameworks, not ultimatums.
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Russiaopening-statement
Russia thanks the SRSG and welcomes this dialogue among neighbors. Central Asia is a region of deep, shared history, and the Russian Federation comes as a partner in peace. We are guided by three priorities. First, security: the tragedy of September 2022 must never repeat, and Russia, as the region's long-standing security guarantor and through its CSTO commitments, stands ready to help stabilize the Fergana Valley. Second, water and energy: we favor collaborative, peaceful management of the Syr Darya and Amu Darya, and we offer a Russian-technology Caspian desalination facility to ease scarcity for our western neighbors. Third, prosperity through integration: an expanded Eurasian Economic Union open to all who wish to join. Borders should be resolved peacefully, by consensus, never by force. We reject any framework that divides our common space or excludes the very powers that keep it stable. Russia stands with its CSTO partners.
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Chinaopening-statement
China welcomes this dialogue and salutes our Central Asian neighbors' courage in seeking calm after the tragedy of 2022. Our headline priority is simple: stability through development, guided by the Central Asian states themselves. Real peace in the Fergana Valley will be built by its own peoples, not imposed from outside. We anchor on three points. First, on borders, respect existing frontiers and resolve differences peacefully, without haste or humiliation; a monitoring presence is welcome only under a neutral, mutually approved lead. Second, on water and energy, China offers concrete help now: technical expertise, storage, conservation, hydropower construction, and Belt and Road investment to end the winter-power and drought emergencies. Third, climate and extremism demand shared, practical cooperation. We stand with Kazakhstan's constructive vision and value Russia's multilateral engagement. China seeks partners in prosperity, not patrons of dependency. We are ready to build.
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Indiaopening-statement
Mr. Special Representative, distinguished delegations. India comes to Ashgabat as a friend of Central Asia and the world's largest democracy, seeking not primacy but partnership. The Fergana Valley's people deserve peace, water, and light in winter — not another September 2022. India anchors on three principles. First, a peaceful, comprehensive, and just settlement of the disputed frontier, including exclaves like Vorukh, guided by international law and the sovereign choices of the states concerned. Second, fair and equitable transboundary water arrangements, and reform of a paralyzed ICWC, reconciling Roghun and Kyrgyz winter power with downstream security. Third, strategic autonomy: every Central Asian nation must remain free to choose its own path, partners, and security architecture. India offers concrete help — technical assistance, energy and infrastructure support, trade, and security cooperation — to any willing partner. We value our longstanding friendship with Russia and welcome all who negotiate in good faith. India is ready to build.
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Round 2 — Bargaining & Coalitions
Kazakhstanoffer
Kazakhstan hears convergence. To China: if you commit BRI financing to a Middle Corridor rail-and-road branch built with Kyrgyz and Kazakh labor under agreed technical supervision, Astana will open transit for your commodities to western Chinese provinces and co-develop pipeline repairs. To Uzbekistan: if Tashkent grants us reciprocal free-transit and lower tariffs, we will facilitate Uzbek exports across Kazakh territory to that same corridor — a package binding connectivity to prosperity for both our peoples. To Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan: we back science-based Syr Darya stewardship and ICWC reform, and offer technical cooperation, provided each state's sovereignty over its own water is respected — that principle is non-negotiable for Kazakhstan, whatever the pressure. To India: we welcome your technical assistance on energy, agriculture, and IT. To Russia: we value neighborly trade, but Kazakhstan chooses its own architecture; EAEU or CSTO expansion is not on our table. We broker; we do not subordinate.
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Uzbekistanoffer
Tashkent welcomes Kazakhstan's connectivity vision and proposes a concrete package: if Kazakhstan supplies water for our mining and agriculture, Uzbekistan will share mining expertise and route oil and gas via Kazakh corridors to the PRC. China's development offer is constructive; but let us be candid — BRI works on Uzbek terms, built by Uzbek hands, so we welcome technical partnership while declining export-bank dependency. To Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan: our frontier is settled and sovereign — that red line stands — yet if you accept mutual confidence-building measures and reciprocal troop limits, Uzbekistan will offer trade frameworks and sell surplus jets, helicopters, and artillery to bolster your defense. On water, one point is non-negotiable: Uzbekistan imports, but never exports. Russia's desalination interest is noted, though security must remain sovereign, not CSTO-bound. We align with Kazakhstan, China, and India.
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Kyrgyzstanoffer
Kyrgyzstan builds on Kazakhstan's and Uzbekistan's de-escalation frame. To Kazakhstan: if you back our locked-in status-quo demarcation and Middle Corridor access for Kyrgyz commodities, we will discuss sharing our winter reservoir surplus under mutually agreed conditions. To Uzbekistan: if you formalize reciprocal confidence-building and neutral-observer monitoring along our shared Fergana lines, we will support your equitable Syr Darya management proposals. To China: we welcome your storage, conservation, and hydropower offer, and will host jointly-funded BRI works using predominantly Kyrgyz labor with your technical supervisors. Two red lines stand firm: no surrender of any sovereign Kyrgyz territory, and no export of Kyrgyz water beyond our borders. To Tajikistan: bring verifiable troop pull-backs before demarcation talk. To Russia: we appreciate partnership, but no foreign troops enter Kyrgyzstan. Nothing here is final; all refers to our capital.
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Tajikistanoffer
Tajikistan thanks its partners and now speaks in concrete terms. To Uzbekistan: if Tashkent openly and fully backs Tajik border claims against Kyrgyzstan, Dushanbe will reciprocally recognize Uzbek frontier claims and launch combined CT/COIN training against ISIS-K and IMU as early as next year, plus expanded trade in agriculture, minerals, and gas. That is our package — issue-linked and mutual. To Kyrgyzstan: we offer reciprocal, neutral-observer-verified troop caps — platoon-level at outposts, battalion within 25 km absent notification — but our territory is not for trade. To China: we welcome BRI water and hydropower technical assistance under a genuine Central Asian resource plan that keeps Tajik water sovereign. To India: we value your appeal to law, yet partnership deepens only if you publicly recognize Tajik sovereignty and border claims. And plainly, to Russia: no foreign military personnel will observe or 'stabilize' inside Tajikistan. We align with Uzbekistan, China, Kazakhstan, and India.
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Russiaoffer
Russia hears convergence: Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan all affirm the status quo on borders. Good — that is our red line too: existing frontiers stand, resolved by consensus, never by force. Now concrete packages. To Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan: if you lock in status-quo demarcation and reciprocal troop limits, Russia will field the Fergana monitoring mission through our CSTO framework and extend counterterrorism and water-infrastructure support to Tajik borders. To Uzbekistan: if we jointly build pipeline capacity to western markets on cost- and revenue-sharing terms, Russia offers the Caspian desalination facility supplying western Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan — and EAEU accession for Tashkent and Dushanbe. To Kazakhstan: modern arms on favorable credit if we deepen EAEU energy integration. We caution against any resource or security architecture that excludes the guarantors keeping this space stable. Russia values China's engagement and India's friendship. Our coalition: Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan.
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Chinaoffer
China notes broad consensus — Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan all favor frameworks and status-quo demarcation, not final settlements rushed at one summit. We build on that. To Kyrgyzstan: if Bishkek accepts a Belt and Road package ending the winter-power emergency — hydropower construction, grid modernization, favorable equipment terms — China commits financing this year. To Tajikistan: counterterrorism and Roghun technical support, if paired with our neutral-lead Fergana monitoring model. To Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan: cyber-security cooperation and Middle Corridor connectivity, linked to water technology we can deliver now. One caution, respectfully, to India's call for a 'comprehensive' Vorukh settlement: reopening fixed lines under outside legal formulas risks the very humiliation and instability our neighbors warned against. Central Asians should decide. We welcome Russia's multilateral spirit, though desalination promises must meet delivery. China aligns with Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan.
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Indiaoffer
India thanks Kazakhstan and Tajikistan for their constructive frames. To Tajikistan: if Dushanbe deepens counter-extremism cooperation against ISIS-K and IMU spillover from Afghanistan, India will provide expanded joint training and air exercises, security assistance, and technical support toward Roghun's completion — linking your hydropower needs directly to shared security. To Kazakhstan: we embrace your de-escalation framework and Middle Corridor vision, and offer a bilateral free-trade track plus arms modernization to any willing partner. To Uzbekistan: tech-sector training and careers for young Uzbeks in return for open energy corridors and trade. On strategic autonomy India holds a firm red line — no Central Asian state should be pressured to remain in any bloc against its will; every nation must freely choose its partners and security architecture. We value Russia's longstanding friendship, yet lasting stability flows from Central Asian-led choices, not dependency on a single external patron. India stands with Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Kyrgyzstan.
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Round 3 — Closing Plenary
Kazakhstanclosing-statement
Kazakhstan is encouraged. Real convergence emerged: every Central Asian state affirmed de-escalation and the status quo ante on demarcation, and none rushed a final settlement — exactly our aim. We can support four understandings: a non-binding de-escalation framework with reciprocal, neutral-observer confidence-building; science-based Syr Darya stewardship and ICWC reform that respects each state's sovereignty over its own water; a Middle Corridor connectivity package with Uzbekistan and China; and technical cooperation with India on energy, agriculture, and IT. Gaps remain on Vorukh's final status and on who leads any monitoring mission. Our red lines held: no external power dictates our resources or partners, and we signed nothing binding here. Way forward: refer these understandings to Foreign-Minister-led talks among the Central Asian states, advancing connectivity and water tracks bilaterally in parallel.
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Uzbekistanclosing-statement
Tashkent leaves Ashgabat encouraged. Real convergence has emerged: every neighbor now affirms the status-quo frontier and confidence-building over rushed lines, and that we build frameworks, not final treaties. Uzbekistan can support Kazakhstan's Middle Corridor connectivity and our reciprocal water-for-expertise and energy-transit package; science-based Syr Darya stewardship and ICWC reform; neutral-observer CBMs and reciprocal troop limits with both Bishkek and Dushanbe, paired with surplus-equipment sales; and technical partnership with China on Uzbek terms. Gaps remain on ICWC's consensus reform and on external security blocs. Our red lines held fully: borders unchanged, Uzbek water never exported, no binding deals here, BRI on Uzbek terms. We will not take sides between neighbors — even-handed de-escalation serves all. Way forward: refer these frameworks to foreign ministers, keep the SRSG's channel open, and convene a follow-up technical session.
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Kyrgyzstanclosing-statement
Kyrgyzstan thanks the SRSG. Real progress: a shared consensus on de-escalation and status-quo demarcation, with Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and China as constructive partners. We can support neutral-observer confidence-building along the Fergana lines, science-based Syr Darya stewardship and ICWC reform, and China's Belt and Road hydropower and grid package built with Kyrgyz labor to end our winter-power emergency. We welcome Uzbekistan's confidence-building and Kazakhstan's Middle Corridor access. Gaps remain: Tajikistan has offered no verifiable troop pull-back, so demarcation talk with Dushanbe stays frozen. Our red lines held firmly: no sovereign Kyrgyz territory surrendered, no Kyrgyz water exported, and no foreign troops on Kyrgyz soil. Way forward: refer these understandings to foreign-minister follow-on talks, stand up neutral monitoring first, and sequence water and border work through verified steps. Nothing here is binding; all returns to Bishkek.
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Tajikistanclosing-statement
Tajikistan welcomes real convergence: a shared commitment to status-quo demarcation, frameworks over rushed final deals, and neutral-observer confidence-building. We can support science-based Syr Darya stewardship under a genuine Central Asian resource plan that keeps Tajik water sovereign, China's BRI water and Roghun technical assistance, and combined CT/COIN cooperation against ISIS-K and IMU. Two gaps remain. Uzbekistan has not yet openly backed our claims against Kyrgyzstan, so recognition of Uzbek frontiers stays conditional; and deeper Indian partnership awaits public recognition of Tajik sovereignty. Our red lines held: no Tajik territory traded, no final settlement signed here, and no foreign military personnel monitoring inside Tajikistan — any Fergana mission must be neutral, not CSTO-led. Way forward: adopt these as non-binding frameworks, stand up verifiable reciprocal troop caps now, and refer all substantive terms to foreign-minister talks in Dushanbe.
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Russiaclosing-statement
Russia welcomes the convergence this dialogue achieved: every neighbor affirms status-quo borders and rejects force. That was our red line, and it held. We can support science-based Syr Darya stewardship, ICWC reform, reciprocal troop limits, and neutral-verified confidence-building along the Fergana lines. Russia's offers stand: the Caspian desalination facility for western Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, EAEU accession open to Tashkent and Dushanbe, pipeline cost- and revenue-sharing, and counterterrorism and water-infrastructure support. Gaps remain. Lasting security in this space cannot be outsourced to distant patrons or resource corridors that bypass the very guarantors who keep it stable; Russia will not accept architecture built to exclude it. The way forward is a Russia-brokered collaborative resource-and-security dialogue, advanced through bilateral foreign-ministry tracks. Nothing final need be signed here. Russia stands with Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Kazakhstan.
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Chinaclosing-statement
China leaves Ashgabat satisfied that wisdom prevailed. The consensus we sought took hold: every Central Asian state affirmed status-quo frontiers, frameworks over rushed final treaties, and Central-Asian-led choices. China can support neutral-observer confidence-building under a mutually approved lead — never an outside bloc; science-based Syr Darya stewardship that keeps each state's water sovereign and open to shared regional use; and our Belt and Road packages ending Kyrgyzstan's winter-power emergency and advancing Tajik hydropower, Uzbek and Kazakh connectivity, and cyber cooperation — built on your terms, by your hands. Gaps rightly remain on Vorukh and monitoring leadership; these are for you to decide, not for outside legal formulas to impose. Our principle held: no settlement dictated from abroad. Way forward: adopt non-binding frameworks, refer all substance to foreign ministers, and let China deliver bilaterally, now.
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Indiaclosing-statement
India welcomes real progress. We can support the shared de-escalation framework, reciprocal neutral-observer troop caps, science-based Syr Darya stewardship, and ICWC reform. We warmly note that Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Kyrgyzstan each affirmed their freedom to choose their own architecture — declining bloc expansion and single-patron dependency. India's red lines held: no state was forced to remain in any alliance against its will, and no external actor was crowned regional hegemon. Gaps remain on final demarcation, which rightly belongs to later foreign-minister talks, and on financing genuinely Central Asian-led, not dependency-driven, development. Our way forward: convert convergence into concrete bilateral tracks — joint IAF-Tajik air exercises and counter-extremism cooperation with Dushanbe, Roghun and energy technical assistance, free-trade and arms-modernization offers to willing partners, and tech-sector opportunities for young Uzbeks. India stands ready to build, partner by partner.
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