SAMARKAND (Sputnik) — The government of Uzbekistan confirmed that Uzbekistan President Islam Karimov died at age the of 78 on Friday. The Uzbek leader was hospitalized last week after suffering a stroke. Earlier in the day, Medvedev attended the memorial service for Karimov held in his native city of Samarkand.
"I hope that we will continue to work on the array of issues shaping our cooperation," Medvedev said stressing that the Russian side was committed to continue the development of bilateral ties.
Mirziyoyev said that Karimov laid the groundwork for the "strategic relationship" between Moscow and Tashkent.
"We will do everything outlined by Karimov, we will move forward working together with our Russian friends," he pointed out.