Log In | Register
CHOLPON-ATA — Russia clinched a tentative deal Saturday allowing it to establish a second military base in Kyrgyzstan, where the United States also has an important air base.
Under the terms of a joint memorandum, Russia could significantly boost the number of troops it has deployed in the Central Asian nation for a period of up to 49 years. Russian forces will be charged with "protecting Kyrgyz sovereignty" and repelling attacks by international terrorist groups, it said.
A definitive agreement detailing the status of the proposed base and Russia's existing Kant base will be signed by November.
No specifics on the location of the base or the amount of troops were given, but the document signed Saturday by the leaders of the two countries indicated that Russia may be allowed to deploy the equivalent of a battalion.
Media reports have suggested a base could be set up in Batken province, near the border with Uzbekistan. That is on the fringe of the Ferghana Valley region that spreads across Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, an area that has been an incubator of Islamic militancy over the past decade.
The memorandum also stipulated that Russian troops stationed at the two bases in Kyrgyzstan may be granted diplomatic status, giving them immunity from local laws.
Leaders of Collective Security Treaty Organization member states — which also include Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan — have gathered at a lakeside town in eastern Kyrgyzstan for a summit that was supposed to also consider the creation of a NATO-style rapid-reaction force.
No announcement on the force was made, however, suggesting possible resistance from Belarus and Uzbekistan. The two countries have so far refused to sign onto the deal to create the force, undermining a Kremlin bid to bolster its power and prestige amid a struggle with the West for regional clout.
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko snubbed a CSTO summit in June amid a politically charged trade dispute with longtime ally Russia. Central Asian power Uzbekistan attended the summit but balked at signing a deal that could increase Moscow's influence over its affairs.
But Kyrgyz officials indicated that troops at Russia's new base will go toward making up the ranks of the rapid-reaction force.
An increase in Russian troops in Kyrgyzstan would supplement personnel already posted at Russia's Kant air base, about 12 miles (20 kilometers) east of the capital, Bishkek.
About 400 Russian military personnel are deployed at Kant, which has been operating since 2003.
The U.S. established an air base at the Manas international airport near Bishkek in late 2001 to support military operations in Afghanistan. The base has become an important transit point for coalition troops and supplies, and it is home to tanker aircraft that refuel warplanes over Afghanistan.
Russia watched in dismay as the United States boosted its military profile in former Soviet Central Asia.
This year, Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev announced the Manas base would be closed. He made the announcement shortly after Russia granted the country more than $2 billion in aid and loans, and U.S. officials suggested the eviction decision hinged on the Russian aid.
But under an agreement reached in June, the U.S. will continue to use the base, paying significantly higher rent.
The base's importance to coalition operations in Afghanistan was highlighted this year as militant attacks increased on coalition supply routes.
