WASHINGTON - Uzbekistan has agreed to let US forces fighting terrorism use one of its air bases for humanitarian purposes "in the first instance," the two countries said in a statement today.
The statement was a sign of diplomatic progress made following a visit to Uzbekistan by Secretary of Defence Donald Rumsfeld last week as the United States sought to build a coalition for its military campaign against Afghanistan's Taleban rulers who are sheltering Osama bin Laden, the man blamed by Washington for last month's attacks on the United States.
President Islam Karimov said the air base could only be used for humanitarian purposes and rescue operations.
Karimov has apparently been reluctant to make public the level of his cooperation with Washington and fears instability from armed insurgents who have invaded his country in recent years in a bid to set up an Islamic state in the region.
US and other media have already reported the arrival of 1,000 U.S. troops but the secretive Tashkent government has refused to confirm even that, let alone where they are.