Kremlin says Uzbek president to visit Putin in Moscow - Izvestia

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev will travel to Moscow in the next two or three months to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin, the Izvestia newspaper quoted Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying on Wednesday. The meeting is likely to be Mirziyoyev's first foreign visit since he was elected president following the death of Islam Karimov, who died of a stroke in September having run Central Asia's most populous nation with an iron fist for 27 years. The two leaders will discuss trade, military co-operation and the flow of Uzbek migrants into Russia, Izvestia cited a source in the Uzbek government as saying. China, Russia and the United States are all competing for influence in Central Asia. Karimov had established closer ties with Washington, but his successor has shown early signs of leaning towards Moscow, according to diplomats and people with ties to Uzbek businesses. (Reporting by Peter Hobson; Editing by Christian Lowe)