Presidents of four former Soviet Central Asian republics have met in the Kazakh city of Almaty to discuss bolstering security cooperation in the region.

The meeting of the leaders of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan took place ahead of an informal summit of the Commonwealth of Independent states, a loose grouping of former Soviet republics, which will officially start Friday.

Discussions are expected to focus on the issue of an increasing U.S. military presence in the region.

News that the United States plans to send as many as 200 U.S. soldiers to Georgia to help train and equip Georgian troops to secure the country's borders and fight terrorists has sparked criticism from Russia.

Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov said Wednesday Moscow does not want U.S. forces on its doorstep.

Georgian President Eduard Shevardnadze is expected to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the summit.

Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan already have allowed the U.S.-led anti-terror coalition to use their airbases and other military facilities.

Some information for this report provided by AFP.

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