TASHKENT: Uzbekistan denied yesterday it was in talks with Washington over a new US base after President Islam Karimov hosted a senior US military commander for talks.
A news report said this week that Tashkent was in talks with Washington over the possible opening of a new US base in the strategically located Central Asian state.
President Islam Karimov on Wednesday hosted Commander of the US Central Command Lloyd Austin for security talks.
During the meeting Karimov questioned the US commander on what role Washington intended to play in the region after the planned withdrawal of combat troops from Afghanistan this year, Uzbek national television reported.
The US embassy confirmed the meeting, saying Austin and his Uzbek hosts “exchanged views on a range of issues related to regional security.”
UzMetronom, an independent online news portal with close ties to Uzbek law enforcement agencies, said this week that Tashkent and Washington were in talks over the possible opening of a US base in the southern town of Termez close to the border with Afghanistan.
Uzbekistan denied the report yesterday.
AFP
