.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright started her tour of Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan on Thursday.

She arrives in the Ukrainian capital Kiev on Friday to meet its leaders over a range of bilateral and international issues and Ukraine's economic reform. US State Department spokesman James Rubin said on Thursday that Albright would stress the US' resolute support to the extensive reform programme pursued by President Leonid Kuchma and Prime Minister Viktor Yushchenko.

Albright's meetings with leaders of the Central Asian republics are expected to center on the region's security. Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev cited new extremist plans to trigger instability in Central Asia. "According to coming information, extremists who have made attampts to destabilise the situation in southern areas of Kirghgizia last year and tried to break into Uzbekistan are concentrating their forces for a new attack in the spring and summer of this year," Nazarbayev said.

The Washington Times had published his article on the eve of Albright's tour. He said a key source of instability, terrorism and drug-trafficking in the region is Afghanistan. Albright is going to address at her meetings in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan the development of democracy processes and the human rights record of these republics.

Prospects of their bilateral relations with the US will be discussed. US State Department representatives have repeatedly stated recently the increased importance of the Central Asian region, with its raw material and energy resources, for the US' national interests.

he United States is to boost border security assistance to three Central Asian countries in response to a growing threat of terrorism and drug trafficking in the region, a senior US official said Wednesday.

Secretary of State Madeleine Albright is to offer Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan three million dollars each to better train and equip border patrols, on a trip to the region that begins this weekend, the official said.

"The problem with all these countries is fundamental: they don't have the capacity to really control the borders and, if you can't do that, then of course you're susceptible to all kinds of transnational problems," he said.

"So if you can give them a better ability to police their own borders, not to mention cooperate regionally and communicate better ... you're starting to get at the problem."

The new assistance, to be offered as an extension of existing US programs, will include training in border control techniques and four-wheel-drive vehicles to improve patrols in the difficult, mountainous terrain that marks many of the region's frontiers.

The official acknowledged that nine million dollars spread among three countries "doesn't sound like much," but maintained that "these are small countries and it buys you a lot, especially in training."

Central Asian authorities, along with those in the United States and other countries, are becoming increasingly worried about the influx of narcotics traffickers and radical Islamic terrorist groups in the region.

The fears have risen following a series of blasts that killed 16 people in the Uzbek capital of Tashkent in February 1999, and the hostage-taking of four Japanese geologists by some 1,000 Islamic rebels in neighboring Kyrgyzstan later in the year.

The scientists were held for two months before being released unharmed in late October, and the rebels retreated south into Afghanistan, but the US official said Washington believed the group had moved north again and was now based in the valleys between Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan.

"The key is to keep this area stable and keep it from becoming infected with the kinds of viruses coming out of, say Afghanistan," the official said. "That's very much in our interest."

Albright will be the third senior US official to visit the region in the past month when she arrives on Saturday, and the second to publicly address Washington's concerns about growing transnational threats there. Earlier this month, FBI director Louis Freeh announced the creation of a Central Asian FBI office in the Kazakh capital of Astana, to help fight terrorism, money laundering, organized crime, corruption and drug trafficking.

His visit came on the heels of a Central Asian trip by CIA director George Tenet. Albright is to begin her tour in Astana, then head to a brief stop in Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan, and finish off her visit in Uzbekistan, where she will spend three days based in the capital of Tashkent, making day trips to Samarkand and Bukhara.

hen Secretary of State Madeleine Albright arrives in Central Asia on a three-country tour this weekend, she will be placing the United States firmly in the middle of a new "Great Game" -- a battle for influence in the region once waged by imperial Britain and Russia.

Though access to India, control of overland Euro-Asian trading routes, including the fabled Silk Road, and territorial gain have been replaced as prizes in the 21st-century version of the game, US officials believe the stakes are just as high now as they were when Victorian Britain and Czarist Russia waged their war of espionage and skullduggery.

Keen to be a player in the region with massive oil reserves as well as to check the spread of drugs and Islamic terrorist groups, the United States has dispatched three top officials to Central Asia's former Soviet states in the past month.

Albright -- who will visit Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan after a stop in Ukraine -- is following in the steps of CIA director George Tenet and FBI director Louis Freeh, who met with regional officials in the region to discuss intelligence and law enforcement issues.

Albright will bring with her a slightly different, but equally critical focus, closing the triangle begun by Tenet and Freeh with a diplomatic mission billed as a visit centered on regional security, democracy building and promoting rule of law.

She will be offering about three million dollars in border enforcement aid to each of the three nations, US officials say.

"These countries are located in an area of great challenge and we've got a tremendous interest in helping them guard against the problems endemic to the area," said one senior official.

The official downplayed the significance of the three trips coming so close together but allowed that the importance of the region made it "only natural that we would have a lot of visitors out there."

"The key is to keep this area stable and keep it from becoming infected with the kinds of viruses coming out of, say Afghanistan," said the official who later added Pakistan and Iran to the list of countries from which Islamic terrorism is being exported.

After leaving Ukraine on Saturday, Albright is to travel to Astana where fierce competition over the huge petroleum deposits on Kazakhstan's Caspian Sea coast has long engaged US oil firms despite recurrent complaints of corruption and other hitches in the privatization process.

"They still haven't done enough to create the right environment to keep investment coming in instead of scaring it away," the official said, describing the Kazakh stop as the most commercial of the three.

Central to Albright's message will be the removal of business restrictions, particularly a cap of exports of oil by foreign companies, which has vexed US firms, the official said.

"We would like to see that cap lifted either before or during the secretary's trip, if not after," the official said.

From Kazakhstan, Albright will make her way to Kyrgyzstan on Sunday -- the smallest of her three destinations and the only one where she will not stay overnight.

The once-burgeoning new democracy there is now challenged by repressive government measures as well as the threat of terrorism. Washington has condemned the arrests of several opposition figures and deplored fraud in Kyrgyzstan's February elections which US officials have termed "disappointing."

"Kyrgyzstan was one of the leading lights in Central Asia but it has kind of slipped off the path," the senior official said. "It is susceptible and we want to make that point to the Kyrgyz."

Terrorism is a credible threat there. Last fall, some 1,000 Islamic rebels took four Japanese geologists hostage for two months there before releasing them unharmed and retreating south through Tajikistan into Afghanistan. Washington believes those rebels have now relocated in the valleys along the Tajik-Kyrgyz border, officials said.

Albright's last and longest stop beginning late Sunday will be Uzbekistan, arguably the most brutal Great Game playing field after Afghanistan and the only country on her itinerary that shares a border with that shattered state.

Terrorism fears have also run high in Uzbekistan following a series of explosions that rocked the capital of Tashkent in February 1999, killing 16 people, and Washington is urging the Uzbeks to step up border control cooperation with the Kyrgyz.

"They need to cooperate if they are going to combat this," the official said.

Side trips from Tashkent will take Washington's top diplomat to Samarkand, a key stop on the Silk Road, and Bukhara, made famous in part by its murderous emir who in 1842 ordered the public executions of two British emissaries as the Great Game got underway.

x-Soviet Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan will soon sign an agreement to officially demarcate their common state borders, a Turkmen government official said on Friday.

The official, who asked not to be named, told Reuters that the presidents of the two countries had discussed the issue by telephone. No time-frame was given for the planned agreement. Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan signed a friendship treaty in 1996. But last year they introduced a visa regime for travel between their countries, and Turkmenistan has since erected checkpoints along its borders.

It shares a 1,600-km (1,000 mile) border with Uzbekistan but the old Soviet-era boundaries are not clearly demarcated. The ambiguous borders have caused tensions between the Central Asian states, particularly between Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. Kazakhstan and Russia are currently working to clearly demarcate their borders.

ao Gangchuan, director of the General Armament Department of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA), met with Mahmudovic Musaef, deputy defense minister of Uzbekistan and his party here today. Cao, who is also a member of the Central Military Commission, said that China and Uzbekistan enjoy a traditional friendship, adding that the Chinese government wants to develop its relations with Uzbekistan.

The friendly cooperation between the two sides has been developing smoothly since Uzbekistan became an independent nation, said Cao. Musaef's current visit to China is significant, noted Cao, adding that the visit will lay a solid foundation for the enhancement of future friendly exchanges between the armies of the two countries. He briefed the guests on China's domestic situation and the position of the Chinese government on the Taiwan issue.

ergei Yastrzhembsky, special representative of the Russian president-elect, arrived in Tashkent on Monday with the aim to meet Uzbek President Islam Karimov and to hand to him a personal message of President-Elect Vladimir Putin. Yastrzhembsky is expected to stay in Uzbekistan for two days, after which he will go to Bishkek, capital of Kyrgyzstan.

ix Turkic-language countries meeting in Baku agreed Saturday to joint efforts in the fight against terrorism, religious extremism and drug trafficking. "Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan and Turkey must unite their efforts in this direction to maintain security and stability in the region," Kyrgyz President Askar Akayev told a news conference after the summit.

Turkish President Suleyman Demirel said: "For a long time, Turkey, which has itself been exposed to terrorism, has been conscious of the importance of regional cooperation on these matters." The six states agreed to create a data bank on drug trafficking.

Demirel also expressed an interest in Azeri gas, saying: "Turkey's needs are such that it is ready to buy all the gas proposed by the exporting countries." While Turkey now needed around 25 billion cubic metres a year, he said, "in 20 years this volume will go up to 83 billion."

ussian presideftial aide Sergei Yastrzhembsky said his country considers Uzbekistan not only as a strategic partner but as an ally. Yastrzhembsky, who is in Uzbekistan on a visit, told journalists after a meeting with Uzbek President Islam Karimov on Monday that their discussion focused on "the evolving situation in Central Asia, bilateral relations, as well as interaction primarily in the fight against international terrorism, religious extremism and narcobusiness".

He said "Russia and Uzbekistan are living through a special period. (Russian President-elect) Vladimir Putin's visit to Uzbekistan in December of last year gave a special impetus to this process. Since then numerous contacts have been made at a relatively high level between the governments, the security couocils and power structures."

Neither Russia nor Uzbekistan has not yet used all the possibilities to counter the "terrible threat that has a tendency to expand and spread in Central Asia. This is our common threat and the enemy is treacherous: international terrorism, banditry, narcobusiness and religious extremism", the aide said.

He noted that "Russia sees Uzbekistan not only a strategic partner but an big friend and adviser in the fight against this threat". "We are ready to jointly repel the challenges coming from international terrorism," Yastrzhembsky added. He stressed that Uzbekistan can count on unconditional support from Russia. Yastrzhembsky gave Karimov a personal message from Putin.

ui Fulin, deputy chief of General Staff of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA), held talks here today with Musaef Mahmudovic, vice-defense minister of Uzbekistan.

Kui spoke highly of bilateral relations, saying that Musaef's visit will contribute greatly to the cooperation between the two armed forces. He reiterated Chinese government's position on the Taiwan issue, stressing that no matter who was elected leader of the Taiwan region, the fact that Taiwan is a part of the Chinese territory will never change.

Kui noted the Chinese government, the army, and the people will not sit idly by in the face of activities aimed to split Chinese national sovereignty and territorial integrity. Musaef said China plays an important role in safeguarding regional and world peace and stability. Uzbekistan hopes to strengthen cooperation with China and central Asian neighbors in order to jointly fight against religious extremism, international terrorism, smuggling and drug trafficking.

He also expressed the hope that the two armed forces deepen cooperation. Musaef arrived in Beijing Sunday for a week-long visit at the invitation of the Chinese Defense Ministry.

he third working meeting of Security Council secretaries of the Collective Security Treaty member states was held in Dushanbe today, 8th April. A representative from Uzbekistan's National Security Council attended the meeting as an observer.

One of the major issues discussed at the meeting was further stepping up the fight against international terrorism. The participants of the meeting exchanged views and data on this issue and discussed precise ways of coordinating the activity of the Security Council of the Collective Security Treaty member states in the fight against international terrorism. The importance of effectively organizing the CIS antiterrorism centre's work was stressed at the meeting.

Tajik Defence Minister Col-Gen Sherali Khayrulloyev, who is also a member of the CIS Collective Security Council, briefed the participants of the meeting on the results of the command and staff anti-terrorist exercises, Commonwealth Southern Shield-2000. The results of the exercises were given a high rating at the meeting.

The meeting's participants also touched upon how to ensuring collective efforts in the fight against illegal drug-trafficking. Discussing measures aimed at preventing illegal migration, the participants advocated more precise coordination of their countries' activity in this field.

The participants expressed satisfaction with the fact that draft regulations for the Committee of Security Council Secretaries of the Collective Security Treaty member countries had been drawn up. They supported Secretary-General of the Collective Security Council Vladimir Zemskoy's views on the committee's future activity.

It was considered expedient that the secretary-general of the Collective Security Council should, in accordance with the Collective Security Treaty's current procedures, establish contacts with international structures dealing with security as a whole in order to establish the necessary interaction in the fight against international terrorism, drug trafficking and illegal migration.

The participants instructed the secretary-general of the Collective Security Council to analyse and sum up the proposals, criticisms and other aspects of the issues discussed at the meeting so that these can be implemented in the forthcoming work of the Committee of the Security Council Secretaries of the Collective Security Treaty member countries.

A proposal by the Security Council of the Russian Federation on holding the constituent session of the Committee of the Security Council Secretaries of the Collective Security Treaty member countries in Moscow, after its regulations have been endorsed at a session of the CIS Collective Security Council, was welcomed and accepted. The participants responded to questions from journalists at a news conference held after the meeting.

he ten lead-lined containers of highly radioactive material seized by Uzbekistan's Customs authorities at a remote border crossing with Turkmenistan, is part of a new Islamic bomb that threatens the United States, Israel and many other countries. This new bomb is not a nuclear weapon. It is a radiation bomb. It is a weapon that Middle Eastern terrorists are likely to use in the near future.

The radiation bomb is made of highly radioactive materials and conventional explosives. The first recent example of such a weapon was built by Chechen terrorists and planted in a Moscow park in November 1995. The Chechens threatened to explode such a weapon in Moscow, and to lend credibility to their threat Chechen rebel commander Shamil Basayev said publicly where the bomb was planted. Subsequently a specially trained Russian team dug it up.

While the Chechen bomb probably would not have caused much damage, because it was buried in the ground, a bomb that is exploded above ground, dispersing radioactive material will result in huge casualties.

The seized material (which may be either Cobalt 60, Cesium 137 or Strontium 90 - all perfect candidates for the New Islamic Bomb) was on its way to Pakistan in a truck driven by an Iranian national. Pakistan does not need this type of material for its nuclear weapons program, but Pakistan may be independently working on radiation-type weapons for itself or for others such as Iran. An air-burst type warhead on an Iranian missile is one possible use. More simple, man-carried terror weapons are another.

Because Islamic terrorists expect to become martyrs, carrying around a highly radioactive weapon in a suitcase is not a factor of importance in the calculation of these terrorists.

The Uzbeks were able to interdict the shipment because the United States provided a handful of portable radiation pagers (detectors) under an obscure, but well-managed, program called the Defense Department-Customs Counterproliferation Program. This program has minimal funding less than $2 million per year for 18 countries in the former Soviet Union, Baltic States, Eastern and Central Europe. This badly neglected program lacks money to buy sufficient numbers of radiation pagers, fixed site detectors or communications gear to enhance the effort being made by the Uzbek authorities and others. At least $50 million in funds for equipment and training is urgently needed for this border security program.

Along with the equipment and training requirements, the United States also needs to gear up its counterterrorism work in these countries and stop worrying about extraneous human rights issues. Terrorists, who get their support from Iran and Afghanistan, threaten Uzbekistan. Yet the United States has hardly lifted a finger to help the Uzbeki authorities deal with the terrorism problem, even though there is a clear link between the terrorists and the nuclear smuggling operations, and these operations are professionally run by well-disciplined intelligence services in Iran and Afghanistan and, quite possibly, Pakistan.

Secretary of State Madeleine Albright will be in Central Asia visiting Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan between April 14 and April 20. She is under pressure from the human rights crowd in the State Department to continue boycotting Uzbekistan because it is not democratic enough. This pressure led to the embarrassing refusal of the United States to provide observers to Uzbekistan's recent presidential election. And, because of this pressure the State Department has blocked progress on counterproliferation and on counterterrorism.

Mrs. Albright has a unique opportunity to set things right in Uzbekistan and the other Central Asian republics by providing real American support to them. In this way, Mrs. Albright will make a contribution to helping stop the New Islamic Bomb. Stephen D. Bryen is the former head of the Defense Technology Security Administration.

ide to the Russian president Sergey Yastrzhembskiy, who is visiting Uzbekistan, has been asked by the ITAR-TASS correspondent to comment on [Chechen President Aslan] Maskhadov's statement about his wish to hold talks with Moscow [made on 10th April in an interview to Deutsche Welle.

Yastrzhembskiy said: "It is quite obvious that contacts have to be maintained, and they were maintained before, through the presidents of North Ossetia and Ingushetia, with some of Maskhadov's representatives. Moscow's position was made known to Maskhadov many times in order to start a political process. There is no chance of any change in the list of our demands. This list is still the same, and includes full disarmament of the rebels opposing the federal forces and unconditional punishment for those responsible for the deaths of thousands upon thousands of people. Responsible for these deaths are the ringleaders such as Khattab, [Shamil] Basayev and [Ruslan] Gelayev. We demand unconditional liquidation of all bandit groups. These demands are also the top priority objective of the antiterrorist operations that are being carried out in Chechnya by the federal forces. Until these objectives are met, the antiterrorist operation in Chechnya cannot be deemed completed."

"In any event, in my view, Russia's position will depend on these demands being met. They remain a priority for us," Yastrzhembskiy said.

he head of the Islamic Supreme Council of America has voiced support to the Russian anti-terrorist campaign in the Northern Caucasus. He has told Itar-Tass that any manifestations of extremism in any place of the world must be put down. Still, he thinks, it is necessary to decide what can be regarded as a manifestation of terrorism and what cannot.

On Tuesday in Washington the Council leader took part in a scientific conference on religious extremism in central Asia and the Caucasus. He said, the proliferation of Wahhabism and other radical Islamic trends in central Asia and the Caucasus prompt concern, and that challenge can become topical even for the United States. The Council leader stressed, representatives of radical religious trends cannot be regarded as Moslems for distorting the teaching's essence.

The forum was organized by the Institute of Central Asia and the Caucasus under Johns Hopkins University. It was attended by experts in the Orient, diplomats and specialists from the United States, Russia, Israel, Uzbekistan and some other countries.

he Russian leadership is interested in developing measures to combat international terrorism, religious extremism and drug trading jointly with the Central Asian states, Russian presidential aide Sergey Yastrzhembskiy on Wednesday [12th April] told Interfax in Bishkek.

He said that the current developments in Chechnya are not only Russia's affair. An attempt on the life of Uzbek President Islam Karimov a year ago and the "Batken events" in the south of Kyrgyzstan into which Tajik rebels crossed in the summer of 1999 show that in Chechnya and in Afghanistan "there are forces which oppose the secular and politically stable development of the Central Asian republics", Yastrzhembskiy said.

These forces would like to destabilize the situation and create controlled territories in Central Asia and Russia where conditions might be created for operations by international terrorists and religious extremists, he said.

Yastrzhembskiy said that his working tour of Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan has to do with the development of a joint plan for combating international terrorism. He told the press in Bishkek that Kyrgyzstan should view Russia as an ally that will immediately hold out a helping hand in the event of a threat from international terrorists, as in the Batken district last year. Prompt military assistance will be given in accordance with the CIS Collective Security Treaty, Yastrzhembskiy said.

He said that Russia is ready to give military aid to Kyrgyzstan at any moment and help it strengthen its armed forces. Yastrzhembskiy told Interfax that during his Central Asian tour he discussed problems of information cooperation between Russia and the Central Asian states. It is important, he said, that the public in those states be informed about the real goals of the international terrorists. "This is not a narrow national problem," he said.

In Bishkek Yastrzhembskiy held talks with Kyrgyz President Askar Akayev and handed Russian President-elect Vladimir Putin's personal message to him. Noting that the message was confidential, Yastrzhembskiy said that it deals with the two countries' coordinated moves to deal with religious extremism, international terrorism and drug trafficking.

slamabad bluntly refutes its involvement in the incident with ten containers of radioactive substances, which have been detained on the Uzbek- Kazakh border. According to some reports, the containers were allegedly meant for delivery to Pakistan.

Pakistan has nothing to do with the cargo, and the whole story is fabricated, a representative of the Pakistani Foreign Ministry has replied to an Itar-Tass inquiry. He described the incident as another attempt to represent Pakistan in an unfavorable light.

An Iranian truck with the radioactive substances was stopped by Uzbek customs officers late last month. According to the version of Tashkent, the truck was on its way from Kazakhstan to the Pakistani town of Quetta via Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Iran. A Pakistani company was the consignee. Uzbekistan sent the truck back to Kazakhstan due to the discrepancy between the container's content and the freight declaration that said it was scrap metal. Astana and Tashkent are clarifying details of the border incident.

he leaders of six Turkic-speaking countries wrapped up their annual summit Saturday with promises to boost the flow of oil and gas from their region and crack down on international terrorism. At a press conference after the summit, several of the leaders said talks focused mainly on speeding up oil and gas pipeline projects, particularly one that will send crude from the Caspian Sea through Azerbaijan and Georgia to Turkey.

Backed by the United States a NATO ally Turkey is vying for strategic oil and gas pipeline routes. Rival projects are being sponsored by Russia and Iran. Turkey's President Suleyman Demirel said his country planned to boost gas imports from Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan and Russia in the coming years.

He predicted further economic development among the six nations at the summit, saying it would serve to bind together the region. ''The 21st century will be a century of strengthening ties between Turkic nations,'' Demirel said. He said that Turkic nations must also intensify economic ties with greater Europe.

Despite efforts to promote common goals, the informal grouping has been split by conflicting territorial and other interests. The meeting was attended by the presidents of Turkey, Kazakstan, Kyrgyzstan and Azerbaijan, but Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan were represented by the speakers of parliament.

President Saparmurat Niyazov of Turkmenistan stayed away because of differences with Azerbaijan over the legal status of the Caspian Sea, whose border they share, and the ownership of several Caspian Sea oil fields, the ITAR-Tass news agency said. President Islam Karimov of Uzbekistan was thought to have stayed away because of diplomatic problems with Turkey the organizer of the annual summit. Uzbekistan says opponents of the government there are being harbored in neighboring Turkey.

At the same time as they agreed to increase production of petroleum, the summit participants promised stronger control over the region's environment, which has been damaged by the extraction of oil and gas. They also signed a declaration pledging to fight international terrorism. Since 1984, Turkey has fought Kurdish separatists in it southeast. Last fall, Islamic militants seized several towns in Kyrgyzstan.

Since 1992, the six Turkic-speaking countries have been meeting annually to tackle regional problems, mostly related to the gas and oil industries.

he extremists who tried to destabilise the situation in southern Kyrgyzstan in order to break into Uzbekistan are collecting their strength for a new offensive this spring and summer, Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev said. Speaking at the 6th Turkic summit in Azerbaijan on Saturday, Nazarbayev cited credible information as saying that a new extremist outbreak poses a serious threat to the stability and security of the whole region.

"I want to say straightforwardly and clearly: any action against Uzbekistan will be considered as action against Kazakhstan," Nazarbayev said, adding that his "country will take all measures to effectively counter terrorism". He regretted that Central Asia has become part of a "large drug transit" business. He believes there is a clear connection between the invigoration of international terrorist activities in the region and an increase in drug transit through Central Asian countries to Europe.

The president stressed that the main cause of instability and growing narcobusiness and terrorism in the region is the continuing fighting in Afghanistan. "There is no and cannot be military solution to the Afghan issue", he said.

He believes that the international community should exert every effort under the U.N. aegis to convince warring factions in Afghanistan to begin peace talks. The Kazakh president noted that the Turkic U.N. members are able of coordinating their positions on the peaceful settlement in Afghanistan.

He emphasised that joint actions by Turkic states are an integral part of measures aimed at maintaining stability in the region in order to fight separatism, extremism, aggressive nationalism, organised crime and international terrorism.

nly coordinated efforts can put an end to international terrorism, drug-trafficking and illegal migration, Tajik President Emomali Rakhmonov said at a meeting with secretaries of the Security Council of state members of the Collective Security Treaty and Uzbekistan on Saturday.

The Security Council secretaries meet in Tajikistan's capital Dushanbe on April 8-9 to generate a common stance on fighting international terrorism. Rakhmonov said at the meeting that he expected the meeting to work out new anti-terrorism mechanisms.

He hailed the large-scale exercises Commonwealth Southern Shield '2000 which have been held by troops of Russia, Kazakhstan Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan to drill anti-terrorist operations.

"It is difficult to overestimate the importance of thes e exercises for the strengthening of stability and security not only in the Central Asian region, but in the CIS as a whole," Rakhmonov said.

He called for joint measures against drug-trafficking, "as the scale of this phenomenon begins to pose a serious threat to national security not only in the region, but in the CIS as a whole".

he director of the U.S. Federal Bureau if Investigation, Louis Freeh, arrived in Tashkent on Saturday on a two-day exploratory visit. This is his first visit to Uzbekistan, during which he will discuss the fight against crime and terrorism. In Tashkent, Freeh will visit the Interior Ministry for talks with its head, Zakir Almatov, and meet the leaders of other power agencies.

The high-ranking U.S. official and his Uzbek colleagues will discuss security in the country and Central Asia as a whole, and cooperation between Uzbekistan and the United States in the fight against extremism and religious fanaticism.

ollowing are the results of Uzbekistan and New Zealand matches in their Davis Cup Asia/Oceania zone group one, second round tie on Sunday (Uzbekistan names first):

Results: Uzbekistan bt New Zealand 4-1

Sunday's singles: Dmitry Mazur bt James Greenhalgh 7-6 (7-2) 6-4

Oleg Ogorodov lost to Mark Nielsen 2-6 6-1 5-7

Saturday's doubles: Oleg Ogorodov/Dmitry Tomashevich bt Alistair Hunt/James Greenhalgh 7-5 7-6 (7-5) 6-4

Friday's singles: Vadim Kutsenko bt Mark Nielsen 7-6 (7-3) 6-3 6-2

Oleg Ogorodov bt Alistair Hunt 7-6 (7-2) 6-2 6-7 (4-7) 7-5