Joint U.S.-Uzbek Statement on Co-operation in Regional SecurityUzbekistan and the United States signed a joint statement Friday to establish new ties in maintaining regional security and stability, according to reports reaching Alma Alta from Tashkent.Uzbekistan has agreed to provide the use of its air space and necessary military and civilian infrastructure of one of its airports in the first instance for humanitarian purposes, said the statement. The targets of the U.S.-led strike are terrorists, not all the Afghans. The two states will co-operate in providing humanitarian aid to the Afghan people, and in eliminating international terrorism and its infrastructure, said the statement. The two countries have signed an agreement on October 7 to fight against terrorism which is considered to be a serious threat to global and regional stability, the Central-Asia Interfax news agency reported. Uzbek Foreign Minister Abdulaziz Kamilov and National Security Meeting Secretary Mirakbar Rakhmonkulov reiterated at a news conference here in the day that air raids and ground battles against Afghanistan from Uzbekistan are not allowed. They also denied 10,000 Taliban soldiers have rallied along the border between Uzbekistan and Afghanistan, the Caspian Sea news agency reported. |
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