US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld was due to arrive in the former Soviet republic of Uzbekistan on Friday to rally support from the mainly Muslim state bordering Afghanistan for a US war against terrorism.
An Uzbek foreign ministry spokesman said Rumsfeld was due to meet Uzbek President Islam Karimov at the presidential residence, although officials refused to provide any further specifics about the talks.
The US defense secretary is on a four-nation tour that has already taken him to Saudi Arabia, Oman and Egypt.
The strongly secular authorities in this Central Asian state have offered Washington military access to Uzbekistan's bases and overflight rights.
Rumsfeld has said that Uzbekistan's possible role in any anti-terrorist campaign was "an open question".
"To the extent that there are things that may or may not be done from a military standpoint, clearly it would be desirable for countries to participate in that," he added.
Uzbekistan, which shares a 130-kilometer border with Afghanistan, has emerged as a potential forward base in strikes against the Taliban regime, which has harbored Saudi extremist Osama bin Laden.
Bin Laden is the prime suspect thought to have masterminded the September 11 terror attacks in the United States.
Uzbekistan's former Soviet air bases and the unlikelihood of extensive deployment in Pakistan have made the country attractive to US military strategists -- TASHKENT (AFP)
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