German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock at the joint press briefing on Tuesday said that the German government hoped to transport thousands of Afghans through Uzbekistan every month. This issue was discussed by the heads of the foreign ministries of both countries in Tashkent.
“Since that day [the Taliban came to power in Afghanistan in September 2021], life has not been easy for you. After all, the hotbed of crises is right at your doorstep. Since last summer, the Taliban have denied women the right to education and freedom. That is why Afghans live in fear, because living and surviving are two different things.”
“The federal government has now decided to transport thousands of people through Uzbekistan to Germany every month. First of all, it will be the Afghan citizens who are under the greatest pressure. We discussed with you [Vladimir Norov] how to export them through Uzbekistan”.
After the briefing, Vladimir Norov, answering a question from an Uzbekistan24 journalist, noted that Uzbekistan was helping Afghanistan, working to establish peace there and prevent a humanitarian crisis. Norov also expressed the opinion that the international community should help in the return of Afghan assets frozen abroad and the restoration of infrastructure there.
After Vladimir Norov's answer, Annalena Baerbock stated that she did not agree with Uzbekistan on this issue and that Germany opposed the actions of the current Afghan government.
“We have no right to leave the citizens of Afghanistan to their fate, and we will not do that. In recent months, we have been witnessing a crisis and the situations that are taking place there. Winter is coming and it will bring its own problems. As the federal government, we will continue to help the people in Afghanistan. We highly appreciate and welcome the work of Uzbekistan in Afghanistan.”
“But in any case, I realized that Uzbekistan and Germany have different views on this issue. Because we believe that the Taliban stole the freedom of the people in Afghanistan. I would like to take this opportunity to say that we are against what the current government of Afghanistan is doing,” Annalena Baerbock concluded.
