Russian President Vladimir Putin told Uzbekistan's leader Islam Karimov on Friday he looked forward to blossoming ties, nearly a year to the day after Uzbek troops earned international censure by firing on civilians.
The European Union, meanwhile, issued a fresh call for a "credible investigation" into a bloodbath that has helped drive a wedge between the West and Moscow.
Witnesses said hundreds were killed on May 13, 2005, among them women and children, when troops opened fire on a protest in the Uzbek city of Andizhan. Uzbek officials say only 187 people died, either armed extremists or troops and police.
Putin received Karimov at his summer residence in the Russian Black Sea resort of Sochi. The two men hailed a recent agreement on closer integration between Russia and Uzbekistan, an ex-Soviet state in Central Asia.
Neither Putin nor Karimov publicly mentioned Andizhan.
"This is ... a step towards creating qualitatively new co-operation," Russian television showed Putin telling Karimov as the Russian leader's black labrador Connie played in the background.
"We must also note the positive trend in our trade and economic co-operation."
The Kremlin has defended the Uzbek authorities over Andizhan, driving a wedge between Russia and Western powers who condemned it and have isolated Karimov's administration.
Karimov is accused by rights groups and Western governments of brutally suppressing free speech and stifling economic reforms. On Friday he thanked Putin for the attention Russia paid to stability in Central Asia.
Karimov has defended his rule by saying only tough action can curb Islamist extremists who, he says, have infiltrated Uzbekistan from neighbouring Afghanistan. Putin has used the same argument to defend his ally.
At his meeting with Putin, the Uzbek leader took a swipe at the United States, which had a military base in Uzbekistan but was asked to leave last year after criticising Karimov's government over Andizhan.
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