Nazarbaev Visits Uzbekistan To Pay Respects To Karimov

Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbaev is now the only surviving leader in the post-Soviet space who has ruled a former Soviet republic since Soviet times.

Kazakhstan's President Nursultan Nazarbaev has arrived in Uzbekistan to pay his respects to late President Islam Karimov, who died of a stroke earlier this month.

The Kazakh president's press service said Nazarbaev arrived on September 12 in Samarkand, Karimov's home city and where he was buried on September 3.

According to the press service, Nazarbaev is also scheduled to meet with Karimov's relatives and acting Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyaev.

Nazarbaev's trip to Samarkand takes place nearly a week after Russian President Vladimir Putin visited the city to honor Karimov.

Both Nazarbaev and Putin were unable to attend Karimov's funeral because they were taking part in the G20 summit in China.

Karimov, 78, had ruled for 27 years at the center of a tight inner circle and ruthlessly applied the country's security and intelligence forces to keep a tight lid on dissent.

Nazarbaev is now the only surviving leader in the post-Soviet space who has ruled a former Soviet republic since Soviet times.