The 18th annual EU-Turkmenistan Human Rights Dialogue was held in Ashgabat on June 22. It came during a period of slightly more visible contact between Turkmenistan and the outside world, including a rare visit by a Reuters reporting team earlier this year.

Reuters said its journalists were able to travel unescorted and report freely, an unusual development in a country long known for strict visa controls and heavily managed media access. Whether that points to a genuine opening remains unclear. Turkmenistan has also spoken of simplifying its visa regime, joining the World Trade Organization, and diversifying its heavily state-led economy.

The human rights picture remains highly restrictive. Rights groups continue to rank Turkmenistan among the world’s most closed states for journalists, civil society, and political dissent. The country placed 173rd out of 180 in the 2026 World Press Freedom Index.

The Turkmen delegation at the dialogue was led by Deputy Foreign Minister Mehri Byashimova. The EU delegation was headed by Dietmar Krissler, head of the Central Asia Division at the European External Action Service.

Brussels’ public account of the meeting focused on areas where it wants Turkmenistan to go further. The EU called for stronger anti-discrimination measures, tougher action against sexual and gender-based violence, the criminalization of domestic violence, and the decriminalization of consensual same-sex relations between adults.

The bloc welcomed Turkmenistan’s cooperation with the International Labour Organization on eliminating forced and child labor. That issue has long been central to outside criticism of Turkmenistan, particularly in the cotton sector. Earlier this year, the EU and ILO launched a project aimed at strengthening action against forced and child labor in the country.

The dialogue also reached some of Turkmenistan’s most sensitive rights issues. The EU raised concern over human rights defenders, including reports of transnational repression, and handed the Turkmen delegation a list of individual cases.

Prison conditions were another focus. The EU cited reports of torture and ill-treatment, and urged Turkmenistan to work more closely with civil society on enforced disappearances. Rights groups have repeatedly called on Brussels to tie closer relations with Ashgabat to measurable progress on such cases.

The EU praised Turkmenistan’s efforts to reduce statelessness, while also calling on the authorities to ensure equal access to consular services for all Turkmen citizens living abroad. Turkmen overseas have reported difficulties renewing passports and obtaining basic consular support, leaving some in precarious legal positions.

The EU also called for unrestricted internet access and a safer environment for civil society organizations.

The meeting reflects the tension in the EU’s current approach to Turkmenistan. Brussels is engaging Ashgabat more actively, as it is with the rest of Central Asia, but continues to keep human rights on the formal agenda. For Turkmenistan, even limited external access and more regular dialogue can be presented as movement. For the EU and rights groups, the test is whether that access leads to changes inside the country.

The next round of the EU-Turkmenistan Human Rights Dialogue is scheduled to take place in Brussels in 2027.