On 8 January 2026, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Belarus to Turkmenistan Stanislav Chepurnoy held a meeting with Deputy Prime Minister of Turkmenistan for Culture, Tourism and Mass Media Bahar Seidova, the Belarusian Foreign Ministry reported.
During the talks, the sides discussed in detail the prospects for further development of cooperation in the humanitarian and cultural spheres. Particular attention was paid to the organization of Days of Culture, exhibitions, festivals and other joint events that traditionally contribute to strengthening friendly ties between the two nations.
One of the key topics of the meeting was the possible resumption of direct air service between the capitals of the two countries — Minsk and Ashgabat.
Currently, regular flights between Belarus and Turkmenistan operate only on the Minsk–Turkmenbashi route, performed by the Belarusian national airline Belavia. The restoration of a direct Minsk–Ashgabat connection is considered an important factor for the development of tourism, business contacts and people-to-people exchanges between the two countries.
It should be noted that launching direct flights between the capitals would be especially timely given the active development of educational ties between Turkmenistan and Belarus. Belarusian universities continue to enjoy steady popularity among Turkmen youth. As of today, approximately 4,000 citizens of Turkmenistan are studying at higher education institutions across Belarus — one of the largest groups of foreign students in the country.
The parties agreed that concrete steps to improve transport accessibility could give a powerful new impetus to the entire range of humanitarian cooperation between the two friendly states. ///nCa, 10 January 2026