The visit by Sens. John McCain, R-Ariz., Lindsey Graham, R-S.C. and John Sununu, R-N.H., increased U.S. pressure on Uzbekistan to drop its resistance to an international probe amid widely varying claims about the death toll in the violence. The former Soviet republic is a U.S. ally in the war on terror and hosts an American military base.
''Without an international investigation, it will be very difficult to move forward and have the relationship that we would like to have,'' Graham said.
The senators said they met with members of four main Uzbek opposition parties, but that government officials declined to meet with them.
Unrest erupted in the eastern city of Andijan on May 13, when militants seized a local prison and government headquarters. Uzbek authorities say 173 people died; activists say up to 750 people were killed in the violence.
