Russia has strengthened all its bases in Central Asia and does not plan to open new ones. The Director of the Third CIS Department of the Foreign Affairs Ministry of Russia Alexander Sternik said in an interview with RIA Novosti.
«The southern direction has long been an object of special attention for us because of the situation in Afghanistan. Now we have to take into account also the redeployment of militants there after their defeat in Syria and Iraq. These risks did not arise yesterday. Russia, our allies, in general, the CSTO and the CIS are constantly taking the necessary measures. Border security, law enforcement agencies are being strengthened. Modernization of the armed forces of our partners is being carried out, personnel are being trained,» the representative of the Russian Foreign Affairs Ministry said.
According to him, the 201st Russian military base in Tajikistan was optimized for supporting the government forces to cover the most dangerous parts of the border. «The potential of our airbase in Kyrgyzstan has been increased. Within the CIS, work on the regional border security system is underway. All these measures should be enough to make the allies feel at ease,» Alexander Sternik told.
The overall situation is beneficially influenced by the process of improvement of relations between the countries of the Fergana Valley — Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan.
Alexander Sternik
«Until recently, with the appearance of disputes in this triangle, tension arose between the national communities living in the valley in close proximity. Extremists could use this for their subversive purposes. Now, due to the revived cooperation of Tashkent with Bishkek and Dushanbe, such risks were reduced,» he said.
