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<P class=text>UZBEK EVENTS COULD PROMPT GEOPOLITICAL SHIFT<BR>Esmer&nbsp;Islamov: 4/02/04 <BR>Sergei Blagov </P>
<P>The March militant attacks in Uzbekistan have potentially profound geopolitical ramifications. Since the September 11 terrorist tragedy, Tashkent has served as the United States’ key strategic partner in Central Asia. There are indications, however, that the four-day bout of violence in Tashkent could hasten a move by President Islam Karimov’s administration to improve relations with Russia.</P></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></BLOCKQUOTE></DIV><A href="http://65.54.244.250/cgi-bin/linkrd?_lang=EN&amp;lah=a46b682eea524f48fb09345a57639e60&amp;lat=1081256355&amp;hm___action=http%3a%2f%2fwww%2eeurasianet%2eorg%2fdepartments%2finsight%2farticles%2feav040204%2eshtml">http://65.54.244.250/cgi-bin/linkrd?_lang=EN&amp;lah=a46b682eea524f48fb09345a57639e60&amp;lat=1081256355&amp;hm___action=http%3a%2f%2fwww%2eeurasianet%2eorg%2fdepartments%2finsight%2farticles%2feav040204%2eshtml</A><p><hr size=1><font face=arial size=-1>Do you Yahoo!?<br>
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