President Islam Karimov of Uzbekistan, one of only two ex-Soviet states...

President Islam Karimov of Uzbekistan, one of only two ex-Soviet states still carrying out the death penalty, said he agreed with his critics that executions should stop, but he gave no timeframe. 
"I want to tell you absolutely honestly that my personal opinion is that we must stop pronouncing death sentences," Karimov told a news conference.
In recent years, Karimov had not questioned the need to abolish the death penalty, citing opinion polls showing more than 90 percent of the population favoured executions.
Despite apparently softening his stance, he said the population still supported capital punishment.
"To what extent is this (abolition of the death penalty) at all feasible today?" he asked. "This depends not only on my willingness, this is about public opinion."
However, Karimov has ruled with sweeping powers since Soviet times, taking little account of dissent. The opposition is barred from running in election, the press is stifled and thousands of dissidents are in jail. Karimov said this year alone Uzbek courts had pronounced between 50 and 60 death sentences. He said eight years ago more than 100 people were sentenced to death each year.