Russian Army Base Deal with Tajikistan Key to Regional Security – Lawmaker

DUSHANBE, October 7 (RIA Novosti) – The ratification last week of an agreement extending the lease on Russia’s military base in Tajikistan is crucial for regional security, a senior Russian lawmaker said Monday.

The lower house of Tajikistan’s parliament ratified Tuesday a long-delayed deal to extend the lease of Russia’s military base in the Central Asian nation until 2042. The deal will now have to be approved by the upper house and signed by President Emomali Rahmon.

The threat of terrorism and drug trafficking remains strong, “so, through the joint efforts of the two countries – Russia and Tajikistan – we must ensure security in the region,” Sergei Naryshkin, speaker of the lower house of the Russian parliament, told Makhmadsaid Ubaidulloyev, speaker of the upper house of Tajikistan’s parliament.

Ubaidulloyev said his country is interested in Russia’s stable development, since “Russia’s progress and stability means stability for the entire region.”

The previous lease on the 201st Military Base – that, at 7,000 troops, accommodates Russia’s biggest military garrison abroad – was set to expire next year, but Rahmon and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin agreed last fall to prolong it for 30 years.