Russia and Uzbekistan have begun to work more closely with each other on economic and security issues, a trend that will likely accelerate in the wake of the deadly subway bombing in St. Petersburg on April 3. But despite their greater cooperation, the government in Tashkent will not abandon its broader strategy of neutrality. Instead, it will continue to maintain strategic ties with China, the United States and other foreign powers. Uzbekistan has long resisted being pulled into Moscow's orbit. Since its independence from the Soviet Union, Russia has sought to enlist Uzbekistan as a partner because of its strategic location bordering each of the other former Soviet states in Central Asia (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan) as well as Afghanistan. The country's sizable population and abundant oil and natural gas reserves have only further piqued Moscow's interest.