Bishkek, 9 January 1997 (RFE/RL) - The presidents of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan are scheduled to begin two days of meetings today in the Kyrgyz capital Bishkek.
The Kyrgyz Foreign Ministry's press service said yesterday that Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev, Uzbek President Islam Karimov, and Kyrgyz President Askar Akayev are expected to sign a treaty of "eternal friendship" tomorrow.
Our correspondent reports that they are also expected to discuss formation of a joint Central Asian peacekeeping battalion as well as the work of the Economic Union formed by the three states in 1994. At the meeting, Kyrgyzstan is scheduled to assume the union's rotating presidency.