US Secretary for Defense Donald Rumsfeld arrived in Uzbekistan this evening as part of a whirlwind four-day tour of five countries which have offered support to US military operations in Afghanistan.
Rumsfeld made no comments to journalists after arriving in Tashkent from Tajikistan, which like Uzbekistan also borders Afghanistan.
He was expected to meet Uzbek President Islam Karimov before leaving on Sunday for Pakistan and then going on to India.
Uzbekistan has offered one airbase to the United States for search and rescue and humanitarian operations and at least 1,000 troops are thought to be based there.
During an eight-hour stay in Moscow earlier on Saturday he met Russian President Vladimir Putin and discussed Russian intelligence support for the US-led campaign.