Uzbekistan

Uzbek President Islam Karimov met with the US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Robert Blake on August 15 for the third round of bilateral political consultations. Both countries have been ramping up cooperation since the end of 2011 when the US lifted sanctions on the provision of military aid, in place against Uzbekistan since 2003. A key area of discussion was developments in Afghanistan. Uzbekistan is a key component of the NATO Northern Distribution Network and we expect US-Uzbek relations to continue deepening in the coming years as the US prepares for a full withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2014. We do not expect international human rights organisations’ objections to increased cooperation to have much impact on bilateral relations.

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