TASHKENT, Uzbekistan, Jan. 6 (UPI) -- U.S. Sen. Joseph Lieberman said Sunday that a Senate delegation has discussed questions of democracy and human rights with Uzbek President Islam Karimov.
"The reality is that where there is no freedom and economic opportunity there is the ground in which extremism can grow," said Lieberman.
Lieberman, a Democrat from Connecticut, and Republican John McCain of Arizona are jointly leading a Senate delegation to Central Asia to gather information on the war against terrorism.
The senators will also visit U.S. troops based in and around Afghanistan besides meeting regional leaders during their weeklong stay in the region.
In Afghanistan, they are also expected to meet the leaders of the new interim government and express their support for the political process that began after the collapse of the Taliban regime on Nov. 13.
The nine-member Senate team assured the Uzbek president that "our interest in this region is going to be permanent," said Lieberman after his meeting with Karimov. He described his meeting with the Uzbek president as "very productive."
In the Uzbek capital, Tashkent, the senators also met with the representatives of the Supreme Assembly and the Defense Ministry and "listened to their views on terrorism."
Uzbekistan borders Afghanistan and 1,500 U.S. Soldiers are stationed at an Uzbek military base close to the Afghan border.
According to Karimov, "it has not yet been decided how long will the U.S. soldiers stay in Uzbekistan." Such questions, he says, "will be decided on the basis of the mutual interests of the two states and the situation in the region."
Before arriving in Uzbekistan the senators visited Turkey. They will go to Tajikistan, Pakistan, Oman and India before returning home.
On Saturday, President Bush's special envoy for Afghanistan, Zalmay Khalilzad, also visited Uzbekistan. An Afghan-American, Khalilzad is considered the Bush administration's top security adviser on Afghanistan.
