According to statements from two sources connected to the organization of U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s visit to Uzbekistan, the selection of journalists for his press conference in Tashkent was handled not through the press service of the U.S. Embassy, but through the Uzbek side. I was not invited to the event. Several other journalists were also not invited, including Rinat Sagitov, author of the “Voice of Jelsomino” channel, who asked me to mention this publicly.
At the same time, judging by the published reports, the press conference itself passed without any sharp or uncomfortable questions. There were no questions related to freedom of speech, pressure on independent media, self-censorship, or restrictions on journalists in Uzbekistan. Against the backdrop of statements by the American side supporting free media, this looked strange, to say the least.
In the Telegram group created by the press service of the U.S. Embassy in Tashkent to invite journalists to various events, no information about the press conference with Blinken appeared. When I asked about it, Inna Sergeevna replied:
“Marina, it seems everything was coordinated through the Foreign Ministry, neither the group nor the press service had anything to do with it.”
Later she added:
“This is a Foreign Ministry event.”
U.S. Embassy employee Ulugbek Khakimov also wrote to me:
“I will convey your outrage about Blinken to my superiors and reply to you later. We did not participate in this process.”
When I asked what specific process he meant, he clarified:
“Selection Journalists.”
Later, Khakimov deleted his messages from the conversation, but I retained screenshots.
Among those invited to the press conference was also a blogger often described in Uzbekistan as “independent,” despite his personal ties to people from the presidential circle. Against this background, questions about the principles used to select participants for the event appear even more legitimate.
An open question remains: did Blinken himself know how the list of journalists for the meeting in Tashkent was formed? If the American side indeed did not participate in selecting participants, the situation looks particularly revealing. During his visit to Tashkent, Blinken spoke about “creating more space… for media freedom.” However, the meeting with journalists ultimately took place in the format of an event with a clearly limited circle of participants whose selection, judging by correspondence from U.S. Embassy employees, was handled through the Uzbek side.