Moscow Calls for a Legal Solution to the Conflict in Uzbekistan

On Monday, Russian Foreign Ministry Sergey Lavrov indicated that his country advocates a legal and non-violent solution to the conflict that broke out last Friday and Saturday in Nukus, the capital of the Autonomous Republic of Karakalpakistan in Uzbekistan.

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"We closely follow the events in the friendly Republic of Uzbekistan, where a nation-wide debate on changes and amendments to the Constitution is taking place. We advocate the solution of all issues within the legal framework and without disorder," he said.

The Uzbekistan General Prosecutor's Office reported that at least 18 people were killed and 243 others injured as a result of the protests. The Uzbek National Guard reported that 516 people were arrested during the demonstrations, declared illegal by the authorities, who imposed a state of emergency throughout Karakalpakistan on Sunday.

The protests were sparked by President Shavkat Mirziyoyev's constitutional reforms that seek to remove Karakalpakista's sovereign status and its right to secede from Uzbekistan through a referendum.

To defuse tensions, Mirziyóyev visited Nukus this weekend, where he announced the withdrawal of these modifications.

The Russian Foreign Ministry welcomed the measures taken by the Uzbek leadership and expressed its confidence that these "will lead to the full normalization of the situation in this region of the country."

The autonomous republic of Karakalpakistan, with a population of almost 2 million people and two official languages, Karakalpak and Uzbek, is the largest region in the country, but it is the fourth least populated.