Praise For Uzbekistan

A delegation of U.S. senators on Sunday thanked Uzbekistan's president for his support in the U.S.-led war against terrorists, and said economic and political contacts would likely increase between the two nations.

"Our interest in this region post-Sept. 11 is going to be permanent, and I believe constructive both to economic development and the spread of democracy," Sen. Joseph Lieberman, D-Conn., said during a news conference in the Uzbek capital, Tashkent.

Lieberman and Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., were leading a delegation of nine senators on a trip that also includes stops in Turkey, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Oman.

On Sunday, the senators met with Uzbek President Islam Karimov, Defense Minister Kadyr Gulyamov and Acting Foreign Minister Sadyk Safaev.

Lieberman called the meeting with Karimov "productive," saying the senators thanked him for the support his country lent the U.S.-led war on terror. Uzbekistan, which shares a border with Afghanistan, allowed more than 1,000 American troops to be stationed within its territory.

But while Lieberman said the United States planned to work with Uzbekistan to improve business relations and attract foreign investment, he warned that "the state of democracy and human rights matters to us, and unless Uzbekistan continues to move in that direction there will be limits on the support that we can give."

For years, Washington has been critical of Karimov's government for its human rights record. Under Karimov, who has ruled since the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union, Uzbekistan has ruthlessly suppressed dissent and cracked down on Islamic militants.

Lieberman acknowledged that helping the region, in particular the war-ravaged Afghanistan, will be expensive, but he said the task is one the United States can't afford to ignore.

Speaking to NBC's Meet the Press from Tashkent, Lieberman said foreign aid to Afghanistan, likely to run into billions of dollars, was necessary to ensure that a terrorist state doesn't spring up again in the region.

"This is a very important part of the world with extraordinary natural resources, including particularly gas and oil," Lieberman said.

Lieberman and McCain were accompanied by Sens. Jack Reed, D-R.I., Susan M. Collins, R-Maine, Fred Thompson, R-Tenn., John Edwards, D-N.C., Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., Bill Nelson, D-Fla., and Jean Carnahan, D-Mo.

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