Memoirs of Akbar Hashemi – October 24, 1993

After listening to the news and having breakfast, Mr. Niyazov came. Together, we went to the site of the Iranian school. The land has been given at a good intersection. The construction of the school began with the pouring of concrete by Mr. Niyazov and me. A large number of people and officials from Turkmenistan attended the ceremony.

From there, we went to their handicrafts exhibition and visited all the booths. It is on a small scale, and they themselves admit it. They say that during the Soviet era, the policy was to keep their handicrafts weak, and after independence, under the supervision of the president, much attention has been paid to them, and artists are encouraged and supported. They also had artistic programs. I did a short interview as well.

We went to the Presidential Office. Upon arrival, private negotiations were held. We discussed issues regarding the Caspian Sea, continuation of the Qaraqum Canal, their matters with neighbors, and so on. They claim that Russia, Azerbaijan, and Kazakhstan intend to first resolve the Caspian Sea issue among themselves and then determine Iran's share separately, but Turkmenistan has said that from the beginning, all discussions regarding the Caspian Sea should be conducted with Iran present.

They did not follow the usual program of meetings between the two presidents and then a group session, and almost all of our talks were one-on-one, the ministers with their counterparts, and me with the president. Although we had many agreements, it is unusual, but it is good, because group negotiations are usually ceremonial.  

From there we went to the university together. In the large amphitheater, academics and officials had gathered. The agreements between me and the President of Turkmenistan were signed in the presence of the audience. Mr. Niyazov and the mayor of Ashgabat expressed praise about me and Iran. Their poet, who was said to have been in prison for two years before independence, had composed a good poem about Iran, Turkmenistan, me, and Niyazov, and recited it well. A student also read a good text in Turkmen and Persian. I also gave a detailed speech.  

There, in recognition of my support for the closeness of the two countries, they declared me an honorary member and presented me with a Turkmen carpet in which my picture was woven. The session was very warm and enthusiastic.

Then we had a joint press interview and answered some questions from journalists. We returned to the residence. Mr. Niyazov stayed there and I left, prayed and closed the suitcase. We had a short lunch and Mr. Niazoff joined us while having lunch. There, they made an appointment with Mr. Mahlouji to buy building stone from Iran. They said that they are currently buying from Ukraine and Italy and it is expensive. It was decided to establish a stone masonry factory in Turkmenistan with the participation of two countries and cooperate on the quality of iron ore mines.

We went to the airport and flew to Almaty with a very warm welcome. The conclusion of all was that they left no stone unturned in the reception and provided hospitality beyond expectations.

Last night, it was reported that the US Secretary of State is in Kazakhstan, and the Voice of America radio reported from the usual sources that the Iranian and American embassies in Almaty were trying to arrange a meeting between me and Christopher. It seemed to me that this lie is a conspiracy, especially since the Voice of America radio published it and it is related to my Saturday morning sleep in Bishkek.

I told them to be in touch with Almaty so that we can enter after Christopher leaves, and that's how it happened. He left Kazakhstan at four in the afternoon and we arrived at half past five. In his negotiations, Mr. Nazarbayev told me that Christopher came to follow up on the issue of nuclear weapons and that Kazakhstan has a demand for their money, which has not yet been resolved. He said that he criticized Iran's fundamentalism and he answered and defended.

Anyway, we flew at half past two in the afternoon. The women were brought late to see the photos of the ceremony; we delayed a bit and waited. On the flight from Ashgabat to Almaty, I slept for an hour and read the pamphlet about the situation in Kazakhstan. Then Mr. Turkan, [Minister of Roads and Transport], asked about the need for more funds for roads and asked for permission to specify some more roads to Iran for ECO in the negotiations of the meeting of road ministers of ECO member countries in Almaty. Mr. Mahluji came and criticized sports; It is mostly due to the weak performance of the national football team.

We landed at Almaty airport in the evening. The official welcome was with sun and parade. A group of Iranian girls also performed songs and slogans, and a group of Iranian goods owners who participated in the Iran exhibition gathered outside the airport with placards and slogans. We went to the residence with Mr. Nazarbayev, the President of Kazakhstan. On the way to our talks, he was talking about his trip to China and Mongolia and their need for Iran's ways to reach the southern seas.

The streets were wide and green and quiet and their hotel was wide and full and in greener heights. It turned out that the president's wife did not come to welcome Eft due to boredom and canceled the dinner plan. Chastity was very upset and upset everyone; Because he believes that it was due to the improper conduct of the formalities and that we did not agree to let my companion get off the plane. I checked; It turned out that it was because of the boredom caused by the food there during the trip to China.

After prayer and rest, their oil minister came and we went together to the hall where the dinner was held. Before dinner, we had brief talks with foreign ministers. Also, at the dinner table, they proposed selling wheat, meat, metals and coal, giving oil from the north and taking it from the south, speeding up the connection of roads and the development of sea transportation. They said they have a currency problem; Although they have printed their own national currency, due to the lack of foreign exchange reserves, they do not consider it expedient to publish and fear that their currency will weaken quickly. In addition, because they are in the area of ​​ruble, they suffer a lot and do not have independence. Two or three of them had male singers who sang very loudly. They didn't have a good dinner and they said that his wife was sick and apologized. In addition, they had included a concert in the program, which we deleted, and they are unhappy; He insisted that it be held without ballet, but with female singers, which I did not accept.