RUSSIA’S AIR BASE IN KYRGYZSTAN MARKS FIRST ANNIVERSARY
Kabar news agency
23 Oct 04
Bishkek, 23 October: The Russian air base in Kant will mark its
anniversary today. Kyrgyz President Askar Akayev and Russian President
Vladimir Putin attended the official opening of the base a year
ago. The main purpose of the air base is to defend the Central Asian
air direction of the Collective Security Treaty Organization which
includes Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and
Russia.
(Passage omitted: the air base has been reconstructed)
It is planned that the air base will receive several SU-27 aircraft
and the number of military servicemen will be increased by another 100
people.
It is expected that deputy commander-in-chief of the Russian air
forces, Col-Gen Yevgeniy Nogovitsyn (as received, First Deputy
Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Air Force is Col-Gen Anatoliy
Nogovitsyn), will lead a delegation of generals and officers to attend
the anniversary celebrations. Gazeta.ru (Russian web site) has
reported, quoting the head of the (Russian) Air Force press service,
Aleksandr Drobyshevskiy, that Nogovitsyn will familiarize himself with
the results of the final inspection of the training of the Kant air
base staff in the summer and will meet servicemen and their family
members. The general will also meet senior officials from the Kyrgyz
Defence Ministry.
The Kyrgyz Defence Ministry has said that Kyrgyz Defence Minister Esen
Topoyev will attend the air base’s first anniversary celebrations on
behalf of Kyrgyzstan.
A group of singers and dancers from the (Volga) Ural Military District
will congratulate the servicemen of Russia’s air base.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress