MOSCOW, June 29 (RIA Novosti) - Preparations are being completed for the first Russian-Uzbek military exercises in post-Soviet history, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov said Wednesday at a meeting with Uzbek President Islam Karimov. "We are getting ready for the summer joint exercises at a range in central Uzbekistan," Karimov said. He said the exercises will be of a special nature in light of the Andizhan events and are very important to Uzbekistan. A prison and several administrative buildings were seized in Andizhan in the early hours of May 13.
Troops seized all buildings involved in a special operation. Uzbek authorities reported a total of 176 people killed in the unrest, although journalists and human rights activists put the number much higher. Some 295 people were wounded.
