Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow and Uzbek President Islom Karimov gave a news conference for journalists following a ceremony to sign documents in Ashgabat.

Speaking at the news conference on 18 October, shown on Turkmen TV the same day, the Turkmen leader said that there were no contradictions in bilateral relations.

"Dear ladies and gentlemen, dear friends. First of all, I would like to thank esteemed Uzbek President Islom Abduganiyevich Karimov for accepting our invitation to pay a visit to Asgabat. We are receiving the president of brotherly Uzbekistan as a big friend who has done a lot to strengthen relations of sincere friendship and cooperation between the Uzbek and Turkmen peoples. We are connected and united by many things. We are united by common history and roots. There is no need to explain why we feel a high need to develop interstate dialogue and partnership today at a new stage of the sovereign development of our states. At the same time, there is a clear understanding of the significance of this partnership not only for our peoples but also for the region as a whole, at the heart of which are Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.

"Today, during our talks, we discussed a lot about this, as well as about the absence of any contradictions in views on future and in our relations," Berdimuhamedow said speaking in Russian.

President Islom Karimov of Uzbekistan thanked his Turkmen counterpart for his invitation and said that the sides shared common views.

"At talks which just ended, we thoroughly discussed all these issues of mutual interest. And I have to tell you today with great satisfaction that over almost all bilateral and multilateral issues that were discussed, we have common interests, common approaches and common understanding," Islom Karimov said, who also spoke in Russian.