ALMATY (Reuters) – Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev plans to travel to Uzbekistan on Saturday, cutting short his trip to China, a Kazakh government source told Reuters on Friday.
The sudden change of plans could indicate that the Kazakh government is preparing for an imminent announcement of Uzbek President Islam Karimov’s death.
The Uzbek government said on Friday Karimov’s health has sharply worsened and described his condition as critical.
(Reporting by Olzhas Auyezov; Editing by Maria Kiselyova)