Rubio heads to Central Asia while other US officials hit foreign policy hot spots

Al-MonitorOctober 18, 2026By Oct 18, 2026

By Gram Slattery and Simon LewisWASHINGTON, Oct 18 (Reuters) - While the Iran war smolders, Saudi Arabia fights theHouthis and a new rift opens in US-Ukraine relations, Secretary of State Marco Rubio travels on Sunday to Uzbekistan, a nation far removed from the biggest US foreign policy challenges.The top US diplomat is scheduled to land in Samarkand on Sunday to meet with leaders from the C5+1, a grouping that brings together the United States and the Muslim-majority post-Soviet states of Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan.

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