December 24, 2001	Monday	Shawwal 8, 1422

MOSCOW, Dec 23: Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov said on Saturday he was counting on the United States to stick to a promise to withdraw its forces from Central Asia once it wraps up the campaign in Afghanistan.

“The United States has already said it has no intention of keeping its military basis on Central Asian territory” when the war in Afghanistan is ended, Ivanov told Russian television TVT.

“We hope that the United States will act accordingly,” said Ivanov, whose remarks to the television were reported by Interfax news agency.

Some 1,500 US troops are based in Uzbekistan and others in Tajikistan, two former Soviet republics in central Asia that are traditionally under Moscow’s sphere of influence.

“Russia respects the choices and decisions of leaders of Central Asian countries about their current and future relations with the United States,” Ivanov said.—AFP