MOSCOW, July 4. /TASS/: The events in the Karakalpakstan region are Uzbekistan’s domestic affair, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Monday.
"Uzbekistan is our ally, a friendly country and a very important partner for us. Everything that happens in Uzbekistan is this country’s domestic affair," he pointed out, when asked if Moscow was keeping an eye on the developments in Karakalpakstan.
According to Peskov, Russia has no doubt that "all the existing issues will be resolved through active efforts by Uzbekistan’s leadership."
Mass riots occurred in Karakalpakstan on July 1-2 in protest against plans to change the region’s status in Uzbekistan’s amended constitution. The authorities said that people had been misled in a bid to seize local government agencies. Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev declared a state of emergency in the region and dropped plans to introduce constitutional amendments that would deprive Karakalpakstan of the status of a sovereign republic within Uzbekistan and the right to secede from the country through a referendum.
