The issue of the possible deployment of US armed forces in Uzbekistan to counter terrorist threats is not on the table and hence is not being discussed. On the sidelines of the meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the CIS countries in Minsk, the Foreign Minister Abdulaziz Kamilov told this to journalists.
Earlier, the American publication Politico, citing sources in the US Congress familiar with the plans of the US military department, reported that officials of Pentagon representatives will discuss in Uzbekistan this month the possibility of deploying US counterterrorism forces.
Reportedly, the main topic on the agenda will be the possibility of deploying "over-the-horizon" anti-terrorist forces in Uzbekistan, which would allow the US military "to better observe and strike at targets in Afghanistan."
The Ministry of Defense of Uzbekistan said that the department had not received an official request from the Pentagon to visit the country.
In May, The Wall Street Journal reported that the US is considering options for deploying troops pulled out from Afghanistan in Central Asia or the Middle East. Uzbekistan and Tajikistan were named as better options.
According to the Uzbekistan’s Defense Doctrine, adopted in January 2018, the deployment of foreign military bases and facilities in the country is not allowed.
