Russian President Vladimir Putin has highlighted Russia's strong relations with the Central Asian nation of Uzbekistan, in an apparent bid to underscore unity with former Soviet nations.

Putin met with President Shavkat Mirziyoyev of Uzbekistan in Moscow on Friday. The two countries agreed to boost cooperation in political and economic activities, security and other fields.

Putin said at the beginning of the talks, "Our relations are developing quite successfully."

After their meeting, the two leaders signed a joint statement on deepening their strategic partnership to boost joint political, trade, cultural and humanitarian activities, as well as security cooperation.

Putin also referred to Russia's natural gas exports to Uzbekistan through a pipeline that opens on Saturday. He said this was designed to ensure energy security for Uzbekistan and the broader Central Asian region.

The decline of Russian influence is becoming more evident among some members of the former Soviet Union, which Putin views as being under Russia's sphere of influence.

Armenia has been moving away from Russia as dissatisfaction has grown over Moscow's handling of a military conflict in September in the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh, where residents are ethnic Armenians.

Next week in Kyrgyzstan, Putin is scheduled to attend a summit of the Commonwealth of Independent States, or CIS. The CIS is made up of some former Soviet republics, including Central Asian nations.

Putin apparently wants to underscore the unity of former Soviet countries through meetings with CIS leaders.