On December 21, 2023, the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation to the Republic of Uzbekistan Oleg Malginov was invited to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. This is reported by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

During the meeting, the Ambassador of Russia was informed about deep concern over statements proposing the annexation of Uzbekistan's territory to the Russian Federation made by Zakhar Prilepin, the co-chairman of the Russian political party "Spravedlivaya Rossiya – za pravdu" at the conference held in the press center of "Russia Segodnya". 

It was reported that the attitude of party leaders of a friendly country such as the Russian Federation does not align with the spirit of comprehensive strategic partnership and alliance between the Republic of Uzbekistan and the Russian Federation. Such statements, widely circulated in Russian media, are deliberately provocative and may negatively affect the historically friendly relations between our nations.

Ambassador Oleg Malginov, responding to concerns, stated with full responsibility that Z. Prilepin's statements do not even remotely have anything in common with the official stance of the leadership of the Russian Federation regarding friendly and independent Uzbekistan.

As the representative of the Russian Federation in Uzbekistan, the Ambassador noted that "the sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity of the Republic of Uzbekistan have never been questioned in his country."

O. Malginov also noted that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia plans to provide an official comment on the incident in the near future.