Karimov Due In Moscow On Two-Day Visit

Uzbek President Islam Karimov is due to arrive in the Russian capital on April 25 at the start of a two-day official visit.

Talks in Moscow between Karimov and Russian President Vladimir Putin are expected to focus on ways to boost bilateral ties as well as regional and global issues, according to the Kremlin.

Karimov has been in power since before the Central Asian nation gained independence from Moscow in the 1991 Soviet breakup.

He rules Uzbekistan with an iron fist, tolerating little if any dissent.

A recent U.S. State Department report accused Uzbek security forces of “torture and abuse of detainees.”

Based on reporting by Interfax and TASS