TASHKENT, May 27. /TASS/. Russia and Uzbekistan have agreed to develop close cooperation between their special service to fight terrorism, illegal drug trafficking and other threats, Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev said after talks with his visiting Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin.

"The issue of countering traditional and new challenges and threats, first of all, terrorism, extremism, organized crime, and drug trafficking, are the focus of our attention. We have agreed to continue developing close cooperation between special services and law enforcement agencies of Russia and Uzbekistan," he said.

Earlier, Director of Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) Alexander Bortnikov thanked colleagues from special services of the CIS countries, including Uzbekistan, for their assistance in investigating the terror attack on Moscow’s Crocus City Hall music venue on March 22.

On October 31, 2023, Director of Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service Sergey Naryshkin paid a working visit to Uzbekistan. He met with chef of the Uzbek State Security Service Abdusalom Azizov to discuss cooperation in fighting international terrorism and exchange of intelligence data.