United States asks Uzbekistan to join the multinational coalition to fight Islamic State 12908151

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Defence & Security News - Uzbekistan
 
United States asks Uzbekistan to join the multinational coalition to fight Islamic State.
The United States said on Thursday, August 27, 2015, it had asked Uzbekistan to join the multinational coalition it leads against Islamic State, saying Central Asia's most populous state was free to choose a way of contributing to the fight against the militant group.
     
The United States said on Thursday, August 27, 2015, it had asked Uzbekistan to join the multinational coalition it leads against Islamic State, saying Central Asia's most populous state was free to choose a way of contributing to the fight against the militant group. Uzbekistan is actively developing relations with NATO and has identified a broad range of areas for dialogue and practical cooperation through its Individual Partnership and Cooperation Programme (IPCP).
     

"We have asked Uzbekistan ... to join the coalition," Daniel Rosenblum, U.S. deputy assistant secretary of state for Central Asia, told reporters during a visit to the Uzbek capital.

Uzbekistan, a mainly Muslim nation with a population of 31 million, has been a strategic NATO partner in post-Soviet Central Asia, assisting a U.S.-led war on the purist Taliban movement in neighboring Afghanistan.

In August 2015, Turkey and the U.S. have completed an agreement allowing Turkey to begin striking at Islamic State targets in Iraq and Syria.

Turkey launched a short series of airstrikes against Islamic State targets last month after it agreed to play a larger role in the fight, including allowing U.S. to use bases in Turkey to launch such strikes.

The final arrangement helps to track and coordinate air operations among the coalition fighting Islamic State as Turkey joins the U.S., Saudi Arabia, France, Britain and others in the air campaign.

Last week, Defense Secretary Ash Carter said he wanted Turkey to play a role beyond the agreement to conduct air operations alongside the U.S.