October 13, 2001	Saturday	Rajab 25, 1422

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WASHINGTON, Oct 12: The United States and Uzbekistan on Friday said they had reached a formal counter-terrorism agreement that will allow US troops and warplanes to use Uzbek airspace and military bases.

The announcement of the pact, which also pledges “urgent” security talks if Uzbekistan faces direct threats, came as the Taliban said it had deployed thousands of troops to its border with the former Soviet republic.

In a joint statement released simultaneously in Washington and Tashkent, the United States and Uzbekistan said they had committed themselves “to eliminate international terrorism and its infrastructure”.

“For these purposes, the Republic of Uzbekistan has agreed to provide the use of its airspace and necessary military and civilian infrastructure of one of its airports, which would be used in the first instance for humanitarian purpose,” the statement said.

The statement said the formal agreement had been reached on Oct 7, the same day the United States and Britain launched airstrikes against Afghanistan.

Uzbekistan last week agreed to fully cooperate in the US-led war during a visit there by US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.

The State Department said the counter-terrorism agreement announced on Friday was separate from the verbal deal reached between Rumsfeld and Uzbek President Islam Karimov.

“Our two governments have decided to establish a qualitatively new relationship based on a long-term commitment to advance security and regional stability,” the statement said.

“This includes the need to consult on an urgent basis about appropriate steps to address the situation in the event of a direct threat to the security or territorial integrity of the Republic of Uzbekistan,” it said.

A State Department official said the agreement should not be regarded as a mutual defence pact or formal treaty but was intended to cement counter-terrorism cooperation.

After Rumsfeld’s visit, Uzbekistan, which shares a 137-kilometre border with Afghanistan, opened a military base to the United States and an advance party of 1,000 US combat troops deployed there at the weekend.

On Thursday, the Taliban said they had deployed 10,000 troops close to the Uzbek border. The Taliban had earlier warned that Uzbekistan could face reprisal attacks after Karimov gave Rumsfeld permission to use the Khanabad military airbase, in the south of the country.

In Tashkent, a foreign ministry spokesman said that if true the reported Taliban deployment was a dangerous move.

“Concentrating 10,000 troops on the border would be a dangerous tactic for the Taliban, because they would become targets for US bombing raids,” the spokesman said.—AFP