Russian President Vladimir Putin has taken a swipe early at the US military presence in Central Asia, while defending a regional security group that some critics have seen as a rival to NATO.

Referring to Washington's loss of a military base that Uzbekistan ordered closed last year, Putin likened the US approach in the region to that of a "bull in a china shop", saying the closure was not at all surprising.

Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) leaders Russian President Vladimir Putin (L) and Chinese President Hu Jintao toast after signing a bank agreement between the two nations after a meeting in Shanghai. Putin took a swipe at the US military presence in central Asia, while defending a regional security group that some critics have seen as a rival to NATO. [AFP]

"We call on everyone to be very careful and allow each country to develop in a natural way," the Russian leader told journalists at an informal gathering after a summit of the six-nation Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO).

"We need to support them (the Central Asian states)... don't forget where Uzbekistan is located -- it borders Afghanistan," he said.

Putin said outsiders showed they did not understand Central Asia when they used "stamps and cliches" to complain about the region, particularly about Uzbekistan, which has been widely criticised for human rights abuses.

Having only gained independence after the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Central Asian states should not be compared with countries that have had longer to mature, Putin said.

The Russian president met with journalists for two hours in his hotel suite in the early hours of Friday, sipping cranberry juice and cracking the occasional joke.

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