Strategic partnership in the ideals of peace and humanism.

• Author: Niyazov, Saparmurat, A.

Throughout the history of human civilization, nations went through different periods of development, accompanied by the search for ways of nation-building, self-realization, increased national self-consciousness, and other types of transformations.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Those processes constitute a single logical chain of history in which the desire for democracy, freedom, peace and justice is the moving force. No matter how long humanity was balancing on the edge of war and peace, it was always peace that came out victorious, which is grounds for historic optimism. The question is: What is the price paid by people for climbing up the ladder of history to reach their ideals of peace?

In that context, contemporary history is marked by radical changes in world politics caused by global interaction among nations and new challenges to peace and to humanity, whose importance is growing proportionally to its experience. Without a doubt, the experience of our young State could be of interest--from the beginning it proclaimed permanent neutrality as its policy.

Following the attainment of independence in 1991, Turkmen people, one of the most ancient Turkic peoples, whose 5,000-year history is marked by a rich culture and periods of triumph and loss, entered a new era of true revival of independent statehood and the return to the international arena after centuries of obscurity. While considering ourselves part of an interconnected international community, we entered a new era with hope for peace and the belief in development and cooperation under guaranteed conditions of stability and security. The historic lessons of the twentieth century--learned from two world wars, a nuclear cold war confrontation, regional conflicts, natural and technological cataclysms, and mutual coexistence with other nations of the former Soviet Union--were the foundation of our optimistic hopes for progressive development of the world.

I have emphasized and continue to stress that the disintegration of the Soviet Union was historically destined and transpired in relative calm. As history has shown, it is impossible for more powerful nations to conquer and subdue small or large nations forever, notwithstanding their technological superiority. In accordance with the logic of progression, empires collapse, providing an opportunity for independent and free development to suppressed nations that have preserved their culture and language.

The Turkmen people, who attained independence in difficult times, managed to unite around the idea of national revival and demonstrated their ability to react effectively to the changes and challenges of the new epoch. Their peacefulness, tolerance, trust and ability to listen and be heard were the key in this process. It is those qualities that give us the grounds to speak of the revived democratic nature of our nation. Consistently and without political romanticism, we started to implement the programme of our State-building to search for optimal ways of participation in international relations. Each step was measured by national interests on one side, and the demand to stabilize the situation in the region and strengthen international security on the other, since those tasks are difficult to separate.

In accordance with our adopted Constitution, the new institutes of State power were set up in a short time, taking into account the rich political and legal culture and mentality of the nation. The political system was elevated to a qualitatively new level, which helped to avoid social cataclysms and the split of the society into conflicting political...