DUSHANBE, July 30, 2008, Asia-Plus  -- Tajik and Russian defense ministries will use a military airfield, located near the settlement of Ayni, some 20 kilometers to the west of Dushanbe, jointly, Russian Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov told reporters in Dushanbe today, following his meeting with President Emomali Rahmon. 

Tajik Defense Minister Sherali Khairulloyev, who also attended the meeting, noted that it will not be lease but joint use of the airfield.

“My counterpart Sherali Khairulloyev and me told President Rahmon that the joint plan on cooperation between defense ministries of our countries is being implemented successfully and a draft plan for the next years is ready for signing,” the Russian minister said.  

He noted that in the course of the talks, they discussed military and military-technical cooperation between Russia and Tajikistan as well as training of military personnel for the Tajik army at Russia’s military schools.  

It is to be noted that according to the Tajik Ministry of Defense (MoD), some 500 Tajik cadets are currently studying at military schools in the Russian Federation.  

Asked about coincidence of his visit to Tajikistan with visit of acting US Central Command chief, Lieutenant-General Martin Dempsey, to Tajikistan, Serdyukov said it is a pure accident.  

Russian Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov arrived in Tajikistan for an official visit yesterday evening.  Today afternoon, he is also scheduled to visit sub-units of the Russian military base in Tajikistan and the space- surveillance center in Norak.

We will recall that under an agreement singed by the Tajik and Russian presidents in Sochi on June 4, 2004, Russia wrote off $250 million of Tajik debt in exchange for the space- surveillance center in Norak.