of Azerbaijan, Astrabat, Merw, Khorasan and even the lands up to Kazwin and Isfahan.

In 1779 Aga Muhammed Han from Gajar ascended the throne and declared his authority. The Gajar reign in Iran, which began with the reign of Aga Muhammed Han, lasted till 1925.

INDEPENDENT AND PERMANENTLY NEUTRAL TÜRKMENISTAN

As the nation that founded all the many states mentioned above, we, the Türkmens, have established our own national, independent state in our own land again. The power of the state we have established lies here. Finally we have our independent and permanently neutral Türkmenistan, which will be the greatest of all the Türkmen states in history and a source of pride. We note and recall all these preceding states as a sign of our respect for them. We have revived the soul of our forefather, Oguz. All these states in our history are related to the state we have now established. In addition this state has three distinctive features that previous states could only wish for: National Independence, Permanent Neutrality and the Ruhnama of Türkmen.

I want to touch on these three sound foundations.

First, National Independence.

The Türkmens who believe in their people, their fatherland and their leader founded the Republic of Türkmenistan on the 27^th October 1991. Independence ensured