MOSCOW, August 5 (RIA Novosti) - The planned deployment of a new Russian military base in Kyrgyzstan is a defensive measure that will not pose a threat to any countries, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday.
"The Russian military presence on the territory of our CSTO [Collective Security Treaty Organization] allies - Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan - is dictated by our shared concern over maintaining regional stability and security in the face of the challenges and threats of international terrorism," the ministry said in a statement posted on its website.
The statement said a training center at the base could be used by collective rapid reaction forces.
The Kyrgyz ambassador said earlier on Wednesday that Kyrgyzstan wanted Russia to locate the base closer to its border with Uzbekistan, in the southern Batken region.
However, Raimkul Attakurov said other members of the post-Soviet CSTO must have a say on where the base is to be placed.
Uzbekistan has protested against the plans for a base close to its border, saying it could lead to an increase in militarization and destabilize the region.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and his Kyrgyz counterpart Kurmanbek Bakiyev signed on Saturday a memorandum on Russia's military presence in Kyrgyzstan.
Kyrgyzstan already hosts a Russian airbase in Kant and four other Russian military facilities. The airbase in Kant, some 20 kilometers (12 miles) outside the capital, Bishkek, was opened in 2003. Some 250 Russian officers and 150 enlisted personnel from Russia's 5th Air Army are deployed at the base, as well as Su-25 Frogfoot strike aircraft and Mi-8 transport helicopters.
In line with the memorandum, the republic will also host an additional Russian military contingent up to battalion size and a training center for both countries' service personnel.
Russia earlier offered to deploy a battalion-sized unit as part of the Collective Security Treaty Organization rapid reaction force in Kyrgyzstan's southern Batken region.
The CSTO comprises Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan.
