EU sanctions against Uzbekistan inefficient - Russian Foreign Minister

Moscow News October 12 Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov poured scorn on European Union sanctions against Uzbekistan on Wednesday, saying such measures against Russia's Central Asian ally would have no effect, Reuters reported. EU diplomats said last month they would impose sanctions on Uzbekistan for refusing an international probe into the deaths of perhaps hundreds of people in a rebellion last May. Lavrov's comments came as U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice toured Central Asia, while pointedly skipping a visit to Uzbekistan, which has stonewalled Washington's calls for an investigation into the events in the town of Andijan. "This (application of sanctions) is a purely political instrument which has shown its lack of effectiveness in Iraq and other regions," Lavrov told journalists after a closed-door speech to parliament, the Interfax news agency reported. Russia is seeking to take advantage of cooling relations between key Central Asian states and the United States. Some governments in the region suspect Washington is keen to support popular revolts that could threaten the grip of some veteran leaders on power. "We are convinced that it is necessary to make efforts for stable and steady democratic development in Central Asia but also consider that it is wrong to allow destabilization from extremist forces," Lavrov said, RIA Novosti reported. Witnesses, including a Reuters reporter, in Andijan on May 13 saw troops open fire on a crowd that included a small number of armed rebels and many unarmed civilians, including women and children. Witnesses say about 500 people died. The government of Uzbek President Islam Karimov says that 187 people, whom it described as mostly "terrorists", died during police action. The U.S. senate voted last week to delay for one year a $23 million payment for the use of an air base in Uzbekistan. In July Uzbekistan gave the U.S. 180 days to leave the base, Reuters added.