Turkey today claimed that Uzbekistan's ailing President Islam Karimov, who has ruled the ex-Soviet nation for over two decades, had died but there was no confirmation from Uzbek authorities.
"Uzbek President Islam Karimov has died. May Allah rest him in peace," Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said during a televised cabinet meeting.
"As the Turkish republic, we share the sorrow of the Uzbek people," he added.
An Uzbek government statement today had described him as being in critical condition, saying his health had worsened "sharply" following a stroke.
Rumours have swirled over the president's condition since Uzbek officials first said last Sunday that he had been hospitalised, with opposition media based outside the very tightly-controlled Central Asian nation claiming he had already died.
Long criticised by rights groups for brutally crushing dissent, Karimov has ruled Uzbekistan with an iron fist since before it gained independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.
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