TASHKENT. Dec 10 (Interfax) - Uzbek President Islam Karimov has called on the countries neighboring Afghanistan, and also the U.S., NATO, and Russia to put together a group of dialogue on Afghanistan.
Speaking at an assembly in Tashkent marking the 20th anniversary of the adoption of Uzbekistan's constitution on Saturday, Karimov mentioned growing threats to security in the region related to the expected withdrawal of international forces from Afghanistan.
"We are firmly convinced that, to prevent a negative scenario in the situation that is taking shape, it is necessary to revert to the most acceptable option that was discussed earlier, that is, the establishment of a dialogue group under the UN auspices, which would comprise Afghanistan's neighbors, with the U.S.', NATO's and Russia's participation," Uzbek media quoted Karimov as saying on Saturday.
"The danger that the situation in Afghanistan and around it could exacerbate after the ISAF troops are withdrawn from there in 2014 cannot but cause serious concerns," he said.
The threats of terrorism, extremism, and drug trafficking could increase, and the situation on the whole could go out of control in Afghanistan, he said.
A number of authoritative experts suggest that, if the situation develops this way, this could lead to the resumption of civil war in Afghanistan and the emergence of various threats to global security in the region, he said.
The Afghanistan dialogue group should focus on reconciling the opposing forces and setting up a coalition government in that country, Karimov said.
"There is no alterative to resolving this problem," he said.