SEP. 14 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Sources in Dushanbe gave Reuters new details on a deal to extend a lease on a Russian military base. The sources said Russia would lease the base for another 20 – 29 years and in return sell weapons to Tajikistan for a discounted price. The lease on the base, Russia’s biggest overseas mission, is due to expire on Jan. 1 2014.
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(News report from Issue No. 105, published on Sep. 21 2012)
SEP. 20 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Russian President Vladimir Putin will sign an extension on the lease of Russia’s air base in Kyrgyzstan during a visit to Bishkek, Russian media reported. Mr Putin started his visit on Sept. 20. The Russian air base outside Bishkek is considered strategically important, particularly as a counter-balance to the US base at Manas airport.
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(News report from Issue No. 105, published on Sep. 21 2012)
AUG. 16 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – After months of negotiations, Russian and Kyrgyz officials have agreed a deal to allow Russia to keep its bases in Kyrgyzstan, media quoted officials as saying. Russia maintains an airbase outside Bishkek, a communication station and torpedo testing site near Lake Issyk-Kul and a seismologist centre in the south of the country.
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(News report from Issue No. 101, published on Aug. 17 2012)
JULY 18 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Sources in the Tajik government told Reuters news agency that Tajikistan and Russia were on the brink of agreeing a new 49-year lease on Russia’s military base in the Pamirs. The source said Russia would not have to pay the $250m that Tajikistan had asked for and would instead pay with arms.
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(News report from Issue No. 097, published on July 20 2012)
JULY 12 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – The long-running saga over extending the lease on the Russian military base in Tajikistan may have entered its end-game. Tajikistan demanded an annual lease of $250m from Russia for the base, one of its biggest overseas outposts, media reported. Under the current contract Russia pays with military assistance.
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(News report from Issue No. 096, published on July 13 2012)
MAY 4 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Russia and Kyrgyzstan quietly signed an agreement on April 24 that extended the lease on Russian military bases in the Central Asian state.
This is important not only because it cements Russia’s presence in the country and but also because it was signed in Beijing. China has become so pivotal in Central Asia’s security issues that Beijing feels like a natural venue to sign bilateral military deals — in this case the deal between Russia and Kyrgyzstan.
The deal was signed between the Russian and Kyrgyz defence ministers who had been in Beijing to attend a meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), the security-focused alliance headed by Russia and China which includes the Central Asian states other than Turkmenistan.
The deal to extend Russia’s lease on an airbase in Kyrgyzstan as well as a handful of other military facilities is an important one. The US operates an airbase just outside the Kyrgyz capital Bishkek, and the new Russian-Kyrgyz agreement shows how much weight Russia places on maintaining a foothold in Kyrgyzstan.
Media did not report details of the deal, which had been argued over for months but it is no doubt good for both Russia and Kyrgyzstan, and China, that a agreement has been secured.
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(News report from Issue No. 086, published on May 4 2012)
APRIL 24 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov flew to Dushanbe for talks with Tajik President Emomali Rakhmon on extending a lease for Russia’s military base. Negotiations have stumbled on the cost and length of the lease extension. No deals were announced but media quoted both sides as saying talks will accelerate.
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(News report from Issue No. 085, published on April 27 2012)
FEB. 25 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Underlining friendly ties between Russia and Kyrgyzstan, Russian President Dmitri Medvedev said Russia would pay a $15m debt to Kyrgyzstan for the lease of its military bases. Mr Medvedev also said he would consider how to help Kyrgyzstan repay the estimated $500m debt it owes Russia.
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(News report from Issue No. 079, published on March 1 2012)
FEB. 23 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Kyrgyzstan has developed a decent business in hosting foreign air bases.
It is the only country in the world where both the US and Russia operate separate air bases giving Kyrgyzstan strategic importance beyond its size.
But not only do the US and Russian air bases lend status, they also generate cash.
In 2009 Kyrgyzstan re-negotiated a deal with the US to allow it to keep its base at the Manas airport outside Bishkek open until the end of 2014, when NATO starts to withdraw from Afghanistan, for $60m/year.
Now it looks as if Kyrgyzstan’s new president, Almazbek Atambayev, wants to reconsider the contract with Russia. As well as the airbase at Kant, Russia also operates a torpedo testing site on Lake Issyk-Kul and two other earthquake measuring and communications centres.
In September 2010, Russia and Kyrgyzstan agreed a $4.5m/year rent for these bases but on Feb. 17 Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reported that Mr Atambayev might now have other ideas.
During a speech to students in Osh, Mr Atambayev reportedly said the $4.5m from Russia only covered the rent of the Kant air base and that Moscow still owed cash for the other bases.
He may have been playing to the crowd but he also knows that the military bases are one of the few tools he has to generate extra income.
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(News report from Issue No. 78, published on Feb. 23 2012)
NOV. 25 2011 (The Conway Bulletin) – Through the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO) Russia agreed to boost military support to Armenia by increasing training and helping to modernise its army, media reported. The CSTO is a military pact involving many ex-Soviet states but not Azerbaijan, Armenia’s enemy. Russia has a large military base in Armenia.
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(News report from Issue No. 67, published on Dec. 1 2011)