EVENTS IN UZBEKISTAN DID NOT AFFECT RUSSIAN MILITARY BASES

MOSCOW, May 19 (RIA Novosti) – The situation in Uzbekistan did not
affect the Russian military bases in Central Asia, chief of the
Russian General Staff Yuri Baluyevsky told journalists in Moscow.

In the small hours of Friday, May 13, militants seized the local prison
and a number of administrative buildings in Andizhan (Uzbekistan). The
troops entered the town afterwards and liberated the administration
premises.

On Saturday public disorders spread to Karasu on the Uzbek-Kyrgyz
border where the insurgents burned down some administrative
buildings. They did not put forward any political demands.

The events in Andizhan and Karasu made many people flee Uzbekistan
to Kyrgyzstan where Russia has a military base.

Russia has two military bases in Central Asia. In October 2003,
an air base was deployed in Kant (Kyrgyzstan). This is a base of
the collective rapid deployment force of the Collective Security
Treaty Organization (CSTO: Russia, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan,
Tajikistan and Armenia). According to Russian Defense Minister Sergei
Ivanov, the Russian leadership plans further development of this base.

The other base is located in Tajikistan. The agreement to transform
the Russian 201st motorized rifle division into a Russian military
base was signed during Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to
Dushanbe in October 2004. This base also includes an air base at Aini,
20 km away from Dushanbe. The base is an important element of Central
Asian security.

Moreover, Tajikistan handed the Okno (window) optic and electronic
complex in Nurek (the Pamir mountains) to Russia to repay its debt.
The complex comprises a unique system of detecting and tracking space
targets at a distance of up to 40,000 km. Only the United States
possesses a similar complex.