The United States and Uzbekistan will continue their dialogue and cooperation on a series of issues although the Central Asian country has asked the US to withdraw its military base in Karshi-khanabad, a document released by the US embassy in Uzbekistan said Thursday.

The document quoted Tom Casey, deputy spokesman of US State Department, as saying that the Uzbek government has the right to terminate the US presence in the Karshi-khanabad airport according to bilateral agreements.

Casey pointed out at the same time that cooperation in such fields as the democratic process, human rights, economic reforms and the military is an important component of the US-Uzbek bilateral relations.

The US will not handle its ties with Uzbekistan in an unfriendly manner and hopes to continue its dialogue with Uzbekistan in the fields mentioned above, the spokesman said.

In Oct. 2001, Uzbekistan and the US signed an agreement which allowed the Americans to use the airport in Karshi-khanabad. On July 29, 2005, the Uzbek Foreign Ministry delivered an official notice to the US embassy in Tashkent, demanding a pullout of the US troops from the military base in Karshi-khanabad within 180 days.

Source: Xinhua