[3] Ties worsened particularly under the government of Turkmen President Saparmurat Niyazov, who in November 2002 accused Uzbekistan of being responsible for sponsoring an attempt on his life.

He accused Uzbekistan's ambassador in Ashgabat, Abdurashid Kadyrov, of assisting an alleged coup leader, former Foreign minister Boris Şyhmyradow.

[3] The peak in this tension arose when a month later, when the special forces of the Ministry for National Security of Turkmenistan raided the Embassy of Uzbekistan in Ashgabat on 16 December to look for Şyhmyradow.

[8][9] Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan had serious "issues" regarding their mutual border until May 2004 when the Turkmen Foreign Ministry released a statement on May 31, 2004 saying disputes had been resolved.

Until Shavkat Mirziyoev became Uzbekistan's president in September 2016, Turkmenistan was considered to be the only Central Asian neighbor which it had good bilateral relations.