Russia, Uzbekistan intend to sign Strategic Partnership Treaty

Interfax June 4 Russia and Uzbekistan plan to sign a Strategic Partnership Treaty during Russian President Vladimir Putin's upcoming visit to Uzbekistan, an official in the press service of the Russian Security Council quoted council Secretary Igor Ivanov as saying. Ivanov attended a meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization's security council secretaries in Tashkent on Friday. He said that during his stay in Tashkent, he had met with top Uzbek officials, notably President Islam Karimov, Foreign Minister Sadyk Safayev and Security Council Secretary Rustam Mirzayev. At the meeting, the security council secretaries discussed issues concerning the expansion of economic and political cooperation between the organization's member nations, Ivanov said. The participants in the meeting agreed, in particular, to coordinate their countries' efforts in stabilizing the situation in Afghanistan, an official in the Russian Security Council said. The Shanghai Cooperation Organization includes China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan. Its summit will be held in Tashkent on June 17. Uzbek President Islam Karimov said that the summit will "define the partnership strategy in security and economic cooperation."