Russian Defence Minister holds talks with the head of the military department of Tajikistan

27.04.2021 (13:24)

Defence Minister of the Russian Federation General of the Army Sergei Shoigu held talks with the Head of the Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Tajikistan, Colonel General Sherali Mirzo at the meeting of the Council of Defence Ministers of the member states of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) in Dushanbe.

During the talks, Sergei Shoigu said that Tajikistan and Russia should be ready to jointly repel possible threats from Afghanistan.

'Against the background of the deterioration of the situation in neighboring Afghanistan, we are planning to jointly repel possible threats, and we are practicing issues of practical cooperation during the exercises,' the Russian Defence Minister said.

Sergei Shoigu, in particular, recalled that last week a joint tactical exercise was held between the units of the 201st Russian military base stationed in the republic and the Armed Forces of Tajikistan.

The head of the Russian military department stressed that Russia and Tajikistan have common tasks to ensure security and maintain stability in the Central Asian region.

'Taking this into account, we provide support to the Tajik side. We pay special attention to bilateral cooperation in the field of defence, as well as to the functioning of the 201st Russian military base,' said the Russian Defence Minister.

In addition, Sergei Shoigu said that Russia is ready to increase the number of Tajik servicemen to study at military schools, waiting for the republic's military contingent to participate in Zapad 2021 strategic command post exercise.

'A number of exercises have been planned within the framework of the CSTO, and in September we are waiting for the Tajik military contingent at Zapad 2021 joint strategic exercise,' the head of the Russian military department said.

The Minister of Defence noted that the Russian Federation, in order to strengthen the combat potential of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Tajikistan, supplies Russian weapons and equipment, trains qualified personnel for the Tajik army free of charge in Russian military schools.

'Currently, more than 500 of your servicemen are trained with us, and up to 1,000 junior specialists are trained annually at the funds of the 201st Russian military base. We are ready to increase the number of both trainees and specialties,' said Sergei Shoigu.

The Head of the Russian Military Department also stressed that he was sincerely glad to meet and to discuss topical issues of cooperation between the two countries in the field of defence.

'In order to increase the reliability of the protection of the state border in the airspace, we have prepared a draft agreement on the creation of a Joint Regional Air Defence System of the Russian Federation and the Republic of Tajikistan. I propose to sign this agreement at the end of the meeting,' said the Russian Defence Minister.

Sergei Shoigu also personally invited representatives of the Ministry of Defence of Tajikistan to the IX Moscow Conference on International Security, the ARMY 2021 International Military and Technical Forum and the International Army Games.

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