US Ambassador to Uzbekistan Jonathan Henick reacted to the statements of the speaker of the State Duma of the Russian Federation Vyacheslav Volodin and touched upon relations between the countries of Central Asia and Russia.

Improving relations between Uzbekistan and the United States benefits the citizens of the two countries and the region as a whole, the US Ambassador to Uzbekistan Jonathan Henick told Alter Ego, a Youtube project.

“It would be too easy to describe Central Asia as a field of struggle only for foreign influence. The countries of Central Asia, especially Uzbekistan, have been independent for over 30 years. These are countries with governments that make independent decisions,” he said

“It is amazing to see how the government of Uzbekistan pursues a foreign policy course that takes into account the interests of its people. That is, a foreign policy that does not depend on any country and tries to be kind to all its neighbors. The same foreign policy that seems to have positive and beneficial relations with Russia, with China, with the EU and the US. If I were president, I would opt for a similar foreign policy course”, he added.

I don’t’ agree that Uzbekistan had to pay for better ties with the United States and the strengthening of US influence. In fact, improving our bilateral ties benefits the Uzbek people, US citizens, and the region as a whole,” the ambassador said.

He also reacted to the statements of the speaker of the State Duma of the Russian Federation Vyacheslav Volodin, who spoke in Tashkent in November 2022 about the consequences of cooperation with Washington.

“I think that Mr. Volodin was promoting his interests. This does not reflect the national interests of Uzbekistan, but from the interests of himself and his colleagues in Moscow. Russia has close ties with Central Asia for historical reasons. The US is not opposed to this, but Russia sees that Uzbekistan has stronger and more balanced relations with other countries. They believe that this relationship will damage Russia's influence in the region,” the US ambassador said.

Jonathan Henick also spoke about how long Uzbekistan would be able to pursue a balanced foreign policy course, at a time when external forces are pulling the country to different directions.

“I think that Uzbekistan has achieved great results in recent years. We see that this country is developing very quickly. The difference between Uzbekistan, when I worked before, and now is significant. I think that Uzbekistan will continue to grow economically and politically. As Uzbekistan develops, the opinion about the need to balance its forces decreases. I think that Uzbekistan is strong enough to stand on its own feet.”

“I don't know what's going on in the minds of officials in Moscow. We have our own values and foreign policy interests. But we are not trying to inculcate them onto others. Uzbekistan chooses its own path of democratic and economic development. If someone from Moscow or from somewhere else says that “they are doing something else”, he is simply lying in his own interests,” the diplomat concluded.