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                     Kerry Meets with Kazakhstan Officials

   by VOA News

   U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry met Kazakhstan President Nursultan
   Nazarbayev Monday on the third day of the top U.S. diplomat's four-day
   tour of Central Asia.

   President Nazarbayev said he was "grateful" for the "permanent support"
   of the U.S. for Kazakhstan's "sovereignty and economic development."

   Kerry, who is hoping to strengthen economic and security ties in the
   region, also met with Kazakhstan's foreign minister, Erlan Idrissove.

   ''Uzbekistan
   In Uzbekistan Sunday, Kerry met the leaders of five former Soviet
   republics: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and
   Uzbekistan, which all are concerned about a resurgence of the Taliban
   in Afghanistan and the recruitment of their people into terrorist
   organizations such as Islamic State. Kerry addressed these concerns at
   the meeting in the ancient Silk Road city of Samarkand.

   Earlier Sunday, Kerry spoke with Uzbekistan's President Islam Karimov,
   in a rare high-level U.S. encounter with the autocratic ruler who is a
   frequent target of human rights criticism.

   ''Next stop Tajikistan
   Tajikistan and Turkmenistan are next of the secretary's itinerary. He
   visited Kyrgyzstan on Saturday.

   U.S. officials regard Kerry's visit as a way of assuring the Central
   Asian nations of the strength of their ties to Washington at a time
   when U.S.-Russian relations are on the decline. But he also is under
   pressure to speak out against the shortcomings of their human rights
   records.

   U.S.-based [1]Human Rights Watch asked Kerry to press for the release
   of people wrongfully imprisoned, end impunity for torture, and uphold
   other key rights commitments.

   The[2] Committee to Protect Journalists recently urged Kerry to bring
   attention to journalists jailed for political reasons and online
   censorship, and to decry physical attacks on members of the media. CPJ
   says its research indicates media freedom has "steadily worsened" in
   Central Asia in the post-Soviet era.

   Kerry's office said Monday the secretary will visit London this week to
   meet with British Foreign Secretary Phillip Hammond to discuss "a range
   of bilateral and global issues, including Syria."
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   [3]http://www.voanews.com/content/kerry-meets-with-kazakhstan-officials
   /3032687.html

References

   1. http://www.hrw.org/
   2. https://www.cpj.org/
   3. http://www.voanews.com/content/kerry-meets-with-kazakhstan-officials/3032687.html