Moscow. May 24. INTERFAX-Tajikistan and Uzbekistan are not interested in deploying American troops withdrawn from Afghanistan on their territory, this opinion was expressed by the special representative of the President of the Russian Federation for Afghanistan, director of the Second Department of Asia of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Zamir Kabulov in an interview published on Monday in the Izvestia newspaper.
"Our contacts with Tajik and Uzbek partners indicate that there was no official appeal to them (from the US authorities about the establishment of US military bases on the territory of Tajikistan and Uzbekistan). This is one time. Secondly, they made it clear that this is not possible. Therefore, we do not have to particularly oppose this, " Kabulov said, commenting on a recent report by The Wall Street Journal about the interest of the United States in deploying its military bases in these states.
At the same time, the diplomat recalled that Tajikistan is a member of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), so "such decisions must be approved by the organization."
"Uzbekistan is not a member of the CSTO, but has a strategic partnership with Russia. In addition, Uzbekistan has adopted a law prohibiting the establishment of foreign military bases on the territory of the country. So we do not need to worry too much about this, " Kabulov concluded in an interview with the publication.
As previously reported by Interfax, in early May, The Wall Street Journal newspaper, with references to US military officials, wrote that American analysts consider the countries of Central Asia and the Middle East as an option for moving military and equipment from Afghanistan.
