Tag Archives: military bases

Russia extends military base lease in Kyrgyzstan

MAY 4 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Russia and Kyrgyzstan quietly signed an agreement on April 24 that extended the lease on Russian military bases in the Central Asian state.

This is important not only because it cements Russia’s presence in the country and but also because it was signed in Beijing. China has become so pivotal in Central Asia’s security issues that Beijing feels like a natural venue to sign bilateral military deals — in this case the deal between Russia and Kyrgyzstan.

The deal was signed between the Russian and Kyrgyz defence ministers who had been in Beijing to attend a meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), the security-focused alliance headed by Russia and China which includes the Central Asian states other than Turkmenistan.

The deal to extend Russia’s lease on an airbase in Kyrgyzstan as well as a handful of other military facilities is an important one. The US operates an airbase just outside the Kyrgyz capital Bishkek, and the new Russian-Kyrgyz agreement shows how much weight Russia places on maintaining a foothold in Kyrgyzstan.

Media did not report details of the deal, which had been argued over for months but it is no doubt good for both Russia and Kyrgyzstan, and China, that a agreement has been secured.

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(News report from Issue No. 086, published on May 4 2012)

Lavrov visits Tajikistan

APRIL 24 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov flew to Dushanbe for talks with Tajik President Emomali Rakhmon on extending a lease for Russia’s military base. Negotiations have stumbled on the cost and length of the lease extension. No deals were announced but media quoted both sides as saying talks will accelerate.

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(News report from Issue No. 085, published on April 27 2012)

Russia pays debt to Kyrgyzstan

FEB. 25 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Underlining friendly ties between Russia and Kyrgyzstan, Russian President Dmitri Medvedev said Russia would pay a $15m debt to Kyrgyzstan for the lease of its military bases. Mr Medvedev also said he would consider how to help Kyrgyzstan repay the estimated $500m debt it owes Russia.

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(News report from Issue No. 079, published on March 1 2012)

Kyrgyzstan’s air bases earn well

FEB. 23 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Kyrgyzstan has developed a decent business in hosting foreign air bases.

It is the only country in the world where both the US and Russia operate separate air bases giving Kyrgyzstan strategic importance beyond its size.

But not only do the US and Russian air bases lend status, they also generate cash.

In 2009 Kyrgyzstan re-negotiated a deal with the US to allow it to keep its base at the Manas airport outside Bishkek open until the end of 2014, when NATO starts to withdraw from Afghanistan, for $60m/year.

Now it looks as if Kyrgyzstan’s new president, Almazbek Atambayev, wants to reconsider the contract with Russia. As well as the airbase at Kant, Russia also operates a torpedo testing site on Lake Issyk-Kul and two other earthquake measuring and communications centres.

In September 2010, Russia and Kyrgyzstan agreed a $4.5m/year rent for these bases but on Feb. 17 Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reported that Mr Atambayev might now have other ideas.

During a speech to students in Osh, Mr Atambayev reportedly said the $4.5m from Russia only covered the rent of the Kant air base and that Moscow still owed cash for the other bases.

He may have been playing to the crowd but he also knows that the military bases are one of the few tools he has to generate extra income.

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(News report from Issue No. 78, published on Feb. 23 2012)

Russia boosts military support to Armenia

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NOV. 25 2011 (The Conway Bulletin) – Through the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO) Russia agreed to boost military support to Armenia by increasing training and helping to modernise its army, media reported. The CSTO is a military pact involving many ex-Soviet states but not Azerbaijan, Armenia’s enemy. Russia has a large military base in Armenia.

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(News report from Issue No. 67, published on Dec. 1 2011)

Kyrgyzstan sets an end date for the US airbase

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NOV. 1 2011 (The Conway Bulletin) – In his first policy statement after winning a presidential election, Kyrgyzstan’s pro-Russia PM Almazbek Atambayev said the US will have to quit an airbase outside Bishkek when its lease expires in 2014. The airbase has been vital to NATO efforts in Afghanistan which also wind up in 2014.

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(News report from Issue No. 63, published on Nov. 1 2011)

Russia wins tug-of-war over military base in Tajikistan

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SEPT. 6 2011 (The Conway Bulletin) – After months of negotiations, Russian President Dmitri Medvedev and Tajik President Emomali Rakhmon announced on Sept. 2 that Russia would indeed extend the lease on its military bases in Tajikistan by 49 years.

Reuters also reported, without giving details, that Russian forces would once again patrol the Tajik-Afghan border — a deal Russia has been pushing for all year. The details still need to be thrashed out, including just how much Russia will pay for the bases, but the announcement was a significant milestone.

The deals secure Russia’s military might on the fringe of Central Asia where control has become increasingly important. NATO plans to withdraw from Afghanistan over the next couple of years and the Central Asian states have been worried about Taliban forces moving northwards.

Russia quit patrolling the Tajik-Afghan border in 2005 but has said throughout the year it wants to regain control to stem the drugs flowing from Afghanistan.

The Kremlin has also been thinking strategically about its military bases and has extended leases on large bases in Armenia and Ukraine. Its deployment in Tajikistan is one of its biggest with roughly 7,000 soldiers and hundreds of tanks and planes stationed there.

Both China and India have bolstered their economic, diplomatic and military reach in Central Asia over the last few years, so for Russia to secure its long-term hold on its military bases in Tajikistan represents a significant achievement.

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(News report from Issue No. 55, published on Sept. 6 2011)

Armenia and the US plan military exercise

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JULY 25 2011 (The Conway Bulletin) – Armenia and the US plan to hold their first joint military exercise by 2013, local media quoted Armenia’s defence ministry as saying, bolstering the two countries’ links. This year Armenia has signed a deal with Russia to extend a lease on a military base in and bolstered economic ties with Iran.

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(News report from Issue No. 50, published on July 27 2011)

Russia extends lease on military base in Armenia

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JULY 6 2011 (The Conway Bulletin) – Russia formalised a deal with Armenia to extend a lease on perhaps its most important military base in the South Caucasus until 2044, Russian media reported. Thousands of Russian soldiers, aircraft and missiles will remain in the base at Gyumri, about 100km north of Yerevan. In the deal, Russia will supply military equipment to Armenia.

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(News report from Issue No. 47, published on July 6 2011)

Russia wants to return guards to Tajikistan-Afghanistan border

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MAY 9 2011 (The Conway Bulletin) – Six years after withdrawing its guards from the Tajikistan-Afghanistan border, Russia wants to return.

The Kremlin feels Tajikistan cannot control its borders effectively and is worried about a wave of Islamic militants and drugs seeping through the country after NATO forces withdraw from neighbouring Afghanistan in 2014, sources in Moscow have told the media Tajikistan is already fighting Islamic militants and is one of the main transit routes for drugs leaving Afghanistan for Russia and Europe.

But there may be more at stake. Russia is competing with the United States and China for influence over Tajikistan and controlling the border with Afghanistan would give it major leverage. Not only is Tajikistan a major access point into and out of Afghanistan but its mountains, rivers and dams control a large proportion of the water supply for the other Central Asian states. Controlling water supplies in Central Asia, equates to power.

Russia maintains a large base in Tajikistan but its military presence there is far reduced from the 1990s and to re-position its soldiers on the border it first needs to win over Tajik President Emomali Rakhmon.

And, to say the least, Mr Rakhmon is sceptical of the benefits of the Russian border guards.

The WikiLeaks website recently published a US diplomatic cable written in December 2005 in which the ambassador quoted Mr Rakhmon describing how he had personally ordered the Russian border guards to leave. Mr Rakhmon was convinced the Russian border guards were plotting a coup.

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(News report from Issue No. 39, published on May 9 2011)