Koizumi opens West's re-engagement with Uzbekistan

TASHKENT, Aug 30 (Reuters) Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi the first leader from the Western camp to today seek re-engagement with the state,wound up a visit to ex-Soviet Uzbekistan isolated over a police crackdown.

Uzbekistan's ties with the West, already strained over its human rights record, soured further after the United States and the European Union accused it of excessive force when troops fired on crowds in Andizhan in May 2005, killing hundreds according to witnesses.

But Koizumi's two-day visit, part of the first trip to Central Asia by a Japanese premier, showed the West may be trying to mend fences with the strategically placed country.

Koizumi told Uzbek leader Islam Karimov to pay more attention to Western concerns and introduce democratic practices, officials travelling with Koizumi said.

''The prime minister (told Karimov) about Japan's experience after World War Two when Japan listened to the international community and embraced policies friendly to the international community,'' said one official.

''The prime minister told him that friendly relations between Uzbekistan and Japan will lead to better relations between Uzbekistan and the United States and the EU.'' During public appearances in Tashkent, Koizumi steered clear of criticism. He and Karimov praised bilateral ties. The Uzbek foreign ministry made no comment on the outcome of the visit.

Koizumi spent much of the day sightseeing, travelling to the ancient Silk Road town of Samarkand before flying back to Tokyo.

According to Uzbekistan the Andizhan uprising was a riot organised by Islamic extremists who want to oust Karimov. It rejected calls for an independent inquiry, prompting EU sanctions.

After the events in Andizhan, where witnesses say hundreds were killed when troops fired on protesters, Uzbekistan sought closer ties with Russia and Asian countries.

Previously a close US ally in the ''war on terror'', Uzbekistan expelled US troops from an airbase used for the US military campaign in Afghanistan.

But the West's door to Uzbekistan, which borders Afghanistan, could be gradually reopening, analysts say, as Karimov becomes uneasy with Russia's clear attempts to link good relations to favourable deals in the gas sector.

The United States is also keen to re-establish contacts, and sent Richard Boucher, Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs, to Tashkent for closed-door talks with Karimov last month.

''It seems Washington is beginning to regret cutting off ties with Uzbekistan so abruptly and seeks to gradually restore them,'' Russia's Kommersant daily wrote.

''The Japanese premier may have found the right words and backed them up with promises of Japanese and U.S. investments.'' REUTERS AKJ PM2048