Uzbek President in intensive care, confirms daughter

Moscow: Uzbekistan President Islam Karimov, who has ruled the Central Asian nation for more than 25 years, is in intensive care after suffering a brain haemorrhage, his younger daughter confirmed on social media.

"My father was hospitalised after suffering a cerebral haemorrhage on Saturday morning, and is now receiving treatment in an intensive care unit," Lola Karimova-Tillyaeva, Uzbekistan`s ambassador to Unesco, wrote on Instagram on Monday.

She said that the 78-year-old leader`s condition was considered stable but that at the moment it is too early to make any predictions about his future health.

Uzbekistan`s cabinet of ministers said on Sunday that the leader of the former Soviet country had been hospitalised, The Guardian cited from a statement published by the state news agency.

On Sunday, the Uzbek government announced that Karimov, long dogged by rumours of ill health, had been hospitalised, without giving details. 

He has been at the helm of the country since before it gained independence from Moscow in 1991.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said they have no new information regarding Karimov and that reports of his death remain unconfirmed, Sputnik news agency reported.

"There are no new comments. We know that there have been various reports that remain unconfirmed. We have no new information at this point," Peskov said.

The spokesman noted that Russian and Uzbek authorities maintain close contacts through diplomatic channels.

Earlier, Peskov said that Russian President Vladimir Putin was "deeply grieved by the illness of the Uzbek president" and was being kept informed of his state through diplomatic channels and the media.