Uzbekistan Won't Forgo Sovereignty In Cooperation With U.s. -- Russian Parliamentarian

In cooperation with the United States Uzbekistan "will not overstep a line where it is to pay with its independence and sovereignty", said Boris Pastukhov at a RIA Novosti news conference on Monday. He is the chief of the committee for affairs of the Commonwealth of Independent States at Russia's State Duma (the lower chamber of Russian parliament). Pastukhov said that, signing agreements with the United States, the leadership of Uzbekistan proceeded from "a real military threat being near its borders". The Duma deputy said that the agreements on US-Uzbekistan interaction clearly stipulate that the latter allows to use its airfields for rescue forces and means, supply of monitoring equipment and humanitarian cargos. Uzbekistan has not promised to Americans use of its airspace and airfields for dealing missile and bomb strikes at Afghanistan or for conduct of an overland operation there, said Boris Pastukhov. He called cooperation between Uzbekistan and the United States "the business of the Uzbek leadership". Meanwhile, the parliamentarian said that Russia unconditionally supports the efforts of the world community in its struggle against international terrorism. Recent statements by the Russian leadership point to the inviolability of the position of the Russian leadership.