US admiral plans visit to Uzbekistan

US Admiral William Fallon plans to visit Uzbekistan soon, he said yesterday, in what would be the first high-level attempt to mend ties since relations broke off in 2005.

The United States condemned Uzbekistan, once a US ally in its war on terror, when troops fired on a protest in the town of Andizhan in 2005. Uzbekistan in return evicted US troops from a key military airbase used as a hub for US operations in Afghanistan.

Fallon, head of the US military Central Command, said he planned to visit the Central Asian nation but did not say when.