Ashgabat Responds to U.S. Partial Travel Ban on Turkmen Citizens

Turkmenistan’s Foreign Ministry has responded to the Trump administration's partial travel ban on Turkmen citizens, describing the decision as a source of “extreme misunderstanding and concern” for Ashgabat.

The United States announced in early June that Turkmenistan was among seven nations that would be subject to tightened requirements for would-be visitors to obtain visas, The Caspian Post reports citing Eurasianet.

A Foreign Ministry statement published June 10 hints that the Trump administration is being geopolitically short-sighted by including Turkmenistan on the list, given that Washington is intent on expanding trade via the Caspian Basin’s Middle Corridor route. In addition, Turkmenistan has recently expressed growing interest in developing markets in the West for its abundant reserves of natural gas.

The partial ban is a “a hasty step that does not take into account the high results of bilateral Turkmen-American cooperation in a wide range of areas, as well as its [Ashgabat’s] current positive development,” the Foreign Ministry statement contends.

The statement also suggests that Turkmen citizens are being unfairly maligned as troublemakers.

“It is the deep conviction of the Turkmen side that … [visa] restrictions are introduced in cases of foreign citizens committing serious offenses in the host country,” the statement argues. “In this regard, it should be especially emphasized that citizens of Turkmenistan traveling abroad, including to the United States of America, are distinguished by a high level of law-abidingness.”

In adding Turkmenistan to the partial ban list, US officials cited statistics indicating that a relatively high percentage of Turkmen visitors have overstayed their US visas. According to US data, less than 1,000 Turkmen citizens visited the United States in 2023.