In terms of its relationship with its western allies Uzbekistan spent another difficult week. not long after senior State Department official, s comment on US intention to leave their airbase in Uzbekistan, on Thursday EU indicate about possible sanction against Uzbekistan if Tashkent continue to refuse to allow an International probe into killing of up to 500 people in may.

Tashkent rejects International investigation by calling those killed people “bandit and terrorists” and numbered 187. According EU diplomats, new strategy against Uzbekistan includes to impose an embargo on export to Uzbekistan of arms, military equipment and possibly visa sanctions, however draft of EU Ambassadors still need to be approved by EU foreign ministers, who are planning to meet on Monday in Luxemburg.

According to the text which seen by Reuter, the visa bans will apply to "those individuals directly responsible for the indiscriminate and disproportionate use of force in Andjon". But there is no indication of whether this ban will apply for High-level Govt. officials or not?

It’s not the first time that EU foreign ministers are putting pressure on Uzbek government to permit an independent international inquiry into the events in Andijon.

Previously, UK diplomats in EU, were pushing to take more harder measures against Uzbekistan, but so far there is no any practical implementation have been seen in both sides.

Emma Udwin the European Commission spokeswoman, in his Interview to RFE/RL made clear that the Inquiry is the central of EU demand. “We remain deeply concerned about the events in Andijon earlier this year. At the present time we only have reports to go on, but those reports are extremely serious, the reports of loss of life, and how life was lost. It seems to us essential that an event of this gravity should be investigated by an international independent inquiry, so that all of us can know the truth.”

Some European diplomats told, that the holding of an inquiry would not necessarily be enough to satisfy the EU or lead to a normalization of relations with Uzbekistan.

According western analysts, it mean in coming days Uzbekistan may face more strict pressure by west, since US officials in his recent visit to Uzbekistan also been told to “take their forces back”. Which is accepted by Washington even with out any further discussion.

However The United States has been criticizing Tashkent over the Andijon events, while President Islam Karimov has won backing from Russia and China.

The U.S., which in recent years has matched EU sanctions imposed on former Soviet countries such as Ukraine and Belarus, did not immediately announce any new measures against Uzbekistan.

But State Department spokesman Sean McCormack did note to reporters on Thursday that the U.S. has put on hold about $21 million in aid as it pushes Uzbekistan to hold an inquiry into the killings.

The U.S. has sought to balance its worldwide goal of spreading human rights and democracy with maintaining its military interests in Uzbekistan. It has so far failed to persuade Tashkent to hold the inquiry and has been forced to agree to leave a key air base over its criticism of the Central Asian nation's human right record.

Some experts believe, that this pressure may lead Uzbekistan to turn his face from west to east, where President Karimov got enormous support by countries like China, and Russia.

According Uzbek Analyst Kamuran Aleyv, the possible impact of sanction, might impact on people more then Govt., as there is no figures how much this former soviet Union state is dependent on EU arms, whose security forces use largely Russian or Soviet-era equipment. However according Reuters, some witnesses have seen the British Land Rovers being used by security forces in Andijon.

Fifteen Uzbeks pleaded guilty on Tuesday to a rebellion in Andizhan in May, but human rights groups said the government was staging the trial to cover up its role in the killings. The 15 were the first of more than 100 people facing trial.

"The Journal of Turkish Weekly"