Uzbek president meets with assistant U.S. secretary of state

Interfax October 6 Uzbek President Islam Karimov met with visiting Assistant U.S. Secretary of State for Political-Military Affairs Lincoln Bloomfield in Tashkent on Tuesday evening to discuss regional security and ways to counter transnational threats. The two men said that security in Central Asia is linked to efforts aimed at restoring peace and stability in Afghanistan, Karimov's office told Interfax on Wednesday. The Uzbek president applauded "vigorous contacts between Uzbekistan and the United States which are intended to contribute to Afghanistan's political and economic revival." During his visit to Tashkent, Bloomfield also met with Foreign and Defense Ministers Sadyk Safayev and Kadyr Gulyamov to discuss bilateral relations and military-technical cooperation.