* EU criticised for approach to Uzbekistan
* Human rights on meeting agenda between EU and Uzbek leader
By Justyna Pawlak
BRUSSELS, Jan 24 (Reuters) - European Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso pressed Uzbek leader Islam Karimov to free political prisoners during a meeting in Brussels on Monday that had drawn wide condemnation from rights groups. Barroso met Karimov to discuss energy and military cooperation, as well as human rights, but activists criticised the meeting as a signal the European Union is reducing pressure for an end of violations in Uzbekistan.
The visit came at a time when the EU is trying to clamp down on human rights abuses in Belarus through sanctions but rights groups say willingness to meet politicians with a record of abuse damages the EU's credibility.
Barroso defended his decision to meet Karimov, saying it gave him an opportunity to address concerns of rights groups, such as political prisoners.
"The European Union follows a policy of critical, conditional and comprehensive engagement with Uzbekistan," he said in a statement.
But Human Rights Watch, a watchdog based in the United States, said in an annual report on Monday the EU's approach to Uzbekistan was an example of the bloc's failure to back words with action to force repressive regimes to respect human rights.
"It's difficult to conceive of a more ruthless leader around the world than Mr. Karimov. For him to be received warmly by Mr. Barroso is in a sense a culmination of this gradual capitulation to Uzbekistan," the group's executive director, Kenneth Roth, told reporters in Brussels.
Relations between Uzbekistan and the West have improved in recent years, with both the EU and the United States shifting their attention to security issues, including military cooperation, and away from human rights.
The EU lifted sanctions, imposed after troops shot hundreds of protesters in 2005, in 2009 and the move angered international human rights groups.
During Monday's meeting Karimov signed an agreement with the EU's executive Commission on developing solar and hydro power and other energy infrastructure, and agreed to allow the bloc to open a diplomatic mission in Tashkent.
Karimov also met NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen to discuss military supply transit routes through Uzbek territory to Afghanistan.
Uzbekistan is a secular former Soviet republic, and the most populous and ethnically diverse country in Central Asia. It is located on gas reserves but tapping them is not a major issue in talks, diplomats said. (Additional reporting by Eva Dou; Editing by Louise Ireland)
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