Russia: no country can challenge Uzbek decision to end US military presence

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http://english.people.com.cn/200509/23/eng20050923_210441.html

Russia: no country can challenge Uzbek decision to end US military presence

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov said Thursday that Uzbekistan's decision to end the US military presence was a decision made by a sovereign country and other countries have no right to interfere.

During a visit to the eastern Uzbek city of Samarkand, Ivanov told reporters that Uzbekistan's decision to close a US military base on its territory was "a decision made by a sovereign country, " according to press reports reaching here from the Uzbek capital of Tashkent.

In 2001, the United States used the opportunity of anti-terrorism war to deploy troops in the Karshi-Khanabad Air Base in Uzbekistan to back up operations in neighboring Afghanistan.

In July this year, the Uzbek Foreign Ministry presented a note to the US embassy in Uzbekistan, demanding US troops leave the country within 180 days.