“Zhaparov noted that the Kyrgyz side perceived the ongoing events in Uzbekistan with great concern,” the message on the website of the President of Kyrgyzstan says.
According to the press service, the President of Kyrgyzstan during the conversation stressed that thanks to "timely, decisive and coordinated" actions, it was possible to ensure the normalization of the situation in Karakalpakstan and prevent its further escalation.
Earlier it was reported that during the riots due to amendments to the Constitution of Uzbekistan in the capital of the Republic of Karakalpakstan, Nukus, on July 1 and 2, 18 people died, 243 people were injured, of which 94 are in hospitals.
The Republic of Karakalpakstan with a population of about 2 million people is located in the north-west of Uzbekistan and is the largest region of the country, occupying about 40% of its territory.
In the 1990s, an agreement was signed on its entry into Uzbekistan in the status of a sovereign republic with the right to withdraw on the basis of a referendum and with two languages - Karakalpak and Uzbek.