DUSHANBE, October 18, 2010, Asia-Plus  -- Tajikistan is currently conducting negotiations on use of the Ayni airfield only with the Russian Federation.

Foreign Minister Hamrokhon Zarifi remarked this at a news conference in Dushanbe on October 18.  According to him, reports released by some media that Tajikistan is allegedly conducting negotiations on use of that facility with the United States and India are baseless.

“We can inform about the results of the negotiations with Russia on use of the Ayni airfield only after an appropriate agreement is signed,” Zarifi said.

An official opening of the renovated Ayni airfield belonging to the Ministry of Defense of Tajikistan took place on September 3 this year.

The airfield is located in Hissar district, some 15-20 kilometers west of Dushanbe.  It was used as a military base during the Soviet era, but its infrastructure has deteriorated significantly since then.  The airfield was renovated in mid 2000s under financial support and technical assistance of India.  The airfield now has state-of-the-art navigational and defense technology and its runway was extended to 3,200 meters so that all types of aircraft can land there.

We will recall that U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Robert Blake denied during talks with President Rahmon in late August that Washington was interested in using Ayni.

Russian media reported that President Emomali Rahmon and his Russian counterpart, Dmitry Medvedev, reached an agreement during talks in Dushanbe on August 30, 2008, that Russia would station five Su-25 fighter jets, Mi-24 and Mi-8 helicopters at Ayni after renovations were completed.