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Russian top diplomat, Uzbek president discuss escalation in Afghanistan

The sides stressed mutual readiness to promote Afghan national reconciliation and Afghanistan’s development as an independent and neutral state

MOSCOW, July 16. /TASS/. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev discussed regional problems amid the current escalation of the situation in Afghanistan, the Russian foreign ministry said on Friday.

"Special attention was focused on regional problems amid the escalation of the situation in Afghanistan. The sides stressed mutual readiness to promote Afghan national reconciliation and Afghanistan’s development as an independent and neutral state," the ministry said after their meeting on the sidelines of an international conference on security in Central and South Asia.

The sides exchanged views on the prospects for bilateral relations in the political, economic and humanitarian spheres, which "are developing in the spirit of strategic partnership and allied relations," the ministry said. "They hailed cooperation between the two countries in combating the coronavirus infection."

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