Uzbekistan has no plans to deport Russians fleeing en masse to Central Asia to avoid conscription amid Moscow’s military campaign in Ukraine, the government in Tashkent said on Friday.

Hundreds of thousands of men, some with families, have left Russia since President Vladimir Putin ordered a partial mobilization last week; many of them went to Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and other former Soviet republics of Central Asia.

However, some refugees remain concerned about their safety in these countries because their governments have close ties to Moscow.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Uzbekistan stated that it remains committed to such principles as respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of other states and supports a peaceful resolution of the Ukrainian conflict.

“…Foreign citizens who have not broken the law are not subject to forced deportation,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Uzbekistan reported.

Uzbekistan does not say how many Russians arrived in the country after the announcement of mobilization. Kazakhstan said it had recorded about 100,000 arrivals.

This week, Uzbek officials reprimanded a Russian ballerina for performing in Tashkent with a song that could be seen as supporting Russia’s war.

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