Putin staying longer in Uzbekistan to talk with Mirziyoyev - Peskov

TASHKENT. May 28 (Interfax) - Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has explained why Russian President Vladimir Putin stayed in Tashkent for another day, saying that the Russian and Uzbek presidents talked in private until 3 a.m. and continued their dialogue at "a semi-private, semi-working breakfast."

"I know that they [the presidents] had a one-to-one conversation until around 3 a.m. The Uzbek president invited Putin to his home, which makes their communication completely private, a truly personal friendship. They also decided to have a semi-private, semi-working breakfast together and are having breakfast together before [Putin's] departure for the airport," Peskov said in an interview with Moscow. Kremlin. Putin program author Pavel Zarubin in Tashkent.

This is practically Putin's first three-day state visit in years, he said.

"Everything is proceeding well here, which is why his stay has been so long. It is not an idle one. Everything has a practical significance, the most serious issues are being discussed. As the Uzbek president has repeated, they are analyzing specific cooperation projects with paper and pen in hand," Peskov said.