Official visit of Russian Defense Minister in Kyrgyzstan. Sergey Ivanov, Minister of Defense of Russia, Kurmanbek Bakiev, President of Kyrgyzstan, and Ismail Isakov, Kyrgyz Defense Minister in the House of Government.
Photo: ITAR-TASS
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Bases Are Growing Up in Prices
// Sergey Ivanov taught Kyrgyzstan how to make money
Yesterday Russian Defense Minister Sergey Ivanov had negotiations with the leadership of Kyrgyzstan. The sides agreed to enlarge the Russian military airbase Kant. Russia promised to present Kyrgyzstan with a helicopter, 10 pick-up trucks and 1,000 of Kalashnikov’s assault rifles. The President of Kyrgyz Republic Kurmanbek Bakiev showed appreciation of the gift and immediately announced the necessity to reconsider the conditions for the U.S. military base presence in Magas.
Right after his arrival to Kyrgyzstan, Sergey Ivanov announced that Moscow will continue to provide Bishkek with military-technical assistance. To prove his words, Ivanov signed with his Kyrgyz colleague Ismail Isakov a contract where Russia promises before the end of the year to supply free of charge 10 heavy-duty full-size pickup trucks KamAZ, the helicopter Mi-8MTV, assault riffles and spare parts to automobiles and armored personnel carriers. The total volume of the aid package, included in the contract, is appraised at $3 million. The heads of the defense ministries also agreed to conduct in 2006 joint anti-terrorist maneuvers on Kyrgyz territory.
Ivanov explains Russian assistance in arming Kyrgyz militaries by the complicated situation in this Central Asian republic. "The situation is overall stable, but in the same time complicated. Because of that we continue to maintain with Kyrgyzstan traditionally close military, military-political, and military -technical ties. And these ties are not only two-sided -- they are also part of Agreement of Collective Security (ACS) and Shanghai Organization of Cooperation (SOC)," the Russian minister of defense noted.
The Russian desire to cooperate finds a great response in Bishkek. “Kyrgyzstan considers Russia as its strategic ally and hopes for further fruitful cooperation and total support," President Kurmanbek Bakiev said yesterday. He noted that only two weeks ago, during the meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, he asked Russia to assist Kyrgyzstan in getting a helicopter and other military equipment and "did not expect that the aid package would come in such expedient order."
Closer to the evening, the Russian defense minister and Kyrgyz president went to inspect the Russian air force base Kant. It looked like the minister was pleased with the results of what servicemen did for two years since the base was open. “The Russian air force base provides air support to the ACS forces all the way up to the Afghani border, allows maintaining stability in Central Asia and prevents drug trafficking from Afghanistan," Ivanov stated. The Russian minister also pointed out that Russia heavily invested in Kant and considers it as a long-term project. According to the minister, there was a decision made recently about provision from the budget of additional 100 million rubles to rearrange the base. In the long term prospective the Russian expenses for the base would reach several billion rubles.
Moscow was able to provide Russian servicemen in Kyrgyzstan with unbelievable privileges. The status of personnel in air force base Kant corresponds with the status of administrative-technical personnel of an overseas Russian embassy. General Colonel Anatoly Mazurkevich, head of Main Directorate of International Military Cooperation at Ministry of Defense, said that "the personnel of the Russian air base is untouchable and is not a subject for arrest or detention for any reason." According to him, the living quarters of Russian personnel on the base, as well as documents, correspondence or property are also untouchable. The servicemen in the base in Kant are not under the criminal, civil or administrative jurisdiction of Kyrgyz law, if the soldiers are performing their duties, Mazurkevich said. According to him, the servicemen of the Russian air base “do not have to answer the questions as witnesses.”
And Moscow does not intend to share Kyrgyzstan with anybody else. Most likely, Sergey Ivanov was raising this subject during the negotiations, which were held behind the closed doors. It is not accidental that right after the negotiations President Bakiev stated his desire to reconsider the conditions of the agreement with Washington, which allows the U.S. military base to be present in Magas. “Kyrgyzstan is reconsidering the agreement with the USA for the airbase of anti-terrorist coalition, “ Bakiev announced in Kant. “Taking in consideration that the republic right now is going through tough economic times, an earlier agreement between the USA and Kyrgyzstan about the airbase did not provide a favorable for us conditions, currently we are examining the way to reconsider the agreement with the Americans,” Bakiev said.
In the evening Sergey Ivanov left for Tashkent.
Bek Orzaliev, Bishkek; Ivan Safronov
All the Article in Russian as of Sep. 22, 2005
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