RUSSIAN MILITARY BASE AROUSES TENSIONS BETWEEN RF, UZBEKISTAN
/PanARMENIAN.Net/
04.08.2009 12:16 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Uzbekistan has condemned Russian plans to escalate
its military presence in neighboring Kyrgyzstan saying it could foment
instability across Central Asia.
The ministry said that "implementation of such projects" could
"reinforce militarization processes" as well as "seriously destabilize
the situation in the vast region."
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and his Kyrgyz counterpart Kurmanbek
Bakiyev signed on Saturday a memorandum on Russia’s military presence
in Kyrgyzstan. The agreement allows Russia to significantly boost
the number of troops it has deployed in Kyrgyzstan for a period of
up to 49 years.
In line with the memorandum, the republic will also host an additional
Russian military contingent up to battalion size and a training center
for both countries’ service personnel, RBC reported.