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Russia Signs Tajikistan Base Deal
TASHKENT, Uzbekistan (AP) - Russian President Vladimir Putin cemented Moscow's military presence in the former Soviet republic of Tajikistan, signing a deal Saturday to establish a permanent base for troops deployed there since before the Soviet collapse.Putin said Russia would strengthen its military contingent in the country after he and Tajik President Emomali Rakhmonov signed the agreement creating the base for Russia's 5,000-strong 201st Motorized Rifle Division. The base in the Tajik capital Dushanbe is part of Russia's attempts to reassert its influence in strategic, energy-rich Central Asia in response to the United States' higher profile in the region since the Sept. 11 attacks. For impoverished Tajikistan, the deal means economic help: Russia agreed to forgive $330 million in debt and pledged $2 billion in government and private investments over the next five years. Putin praised the "strategic partnership," Russia's ITAR-Tass news agency reported. The two countries agree that "the stable functioning of the Russian base and its strengthening - and we intend to strengthen our military presence in Tajikistan - will be a guarantee not only of the stability of Russian investment in Tajikistan but also of the stability of Tajikistan itself," Putin said, according to the Interfax news agency. Rakhmonov praised the agreement for "lifting a weight" from impoverished Tajikistan to foster future economic development. Most of the money Russia has promised under the deail will fund two large hydroelectric stations and an aluminum factory. Tajikistan and Russia have been negotiating the Dushanbe base for months, and the talks were believed to have been delayed by Tajik demands for payment. The two presidents reached agreement this summer. The unit's commanders will be based in Dushanbe, while some troops will be posted in the cities of Kulyab and Kurgan-Tyube. Russia also signed an agreement taking full possession of a space monitoring system in Tajikistan, which can track objects 24,800 miles above the Earth. The system, located 7,260 feet above sea level, takes advantage of the area's fine weather and the atmosphere's high transparency - conditions not found elsewhere in the former Soviet Union, Russian officials said. The presidents also agreed to a timetable for Russia to turn over responsibility for guarding sections of the Afghan border to Tajik forces. Russia has helped guard the border since 1993, and Saturday's agreement envisions those Russians withdrawing by 2006. The border is a major trafficking route for illegal drugs from Afghanistan, the world's largest opium producer.
Posted by: Steve White 2004-10-16 |
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