Russia will continue to deliver modern weapons to its military base in Kyrgyzstan, Russian President Vladimir Putin emphasized on Thursday.
“For my part, I would like to offer assurances that the Russian leadership will continue to pay close attention to the issues of providing the air base with advanced types of weapons, modern technology and equipment,” said Putin.
The Russian leader, who is on a two-day official visit to Kyrgyzstan, addressed the command and personnel of the airbase, emphasizing that the Russian authorities highly value the challenging service they carry out abroad.
Russian military base in the Kyrgyz town of Kant.
© Sputnik / Vlad Ushakov
Putin hailed the military outpost’s contribution to bolstering the Kyrgyzstan's defense capability, providing security and stability in the entire Central Asian region, and recalled how he had attended the ceremony of opening the Kant air base in October 2003.
"I remember how the Kant base was established, when the [Kyrgyz] republic’s leadership turned to the Russian Federation with a request to deploy our air wing as soon as possible because Kyrgyzstan had been attacked by armed gangs... and this required a quick and joint reaction," the Russian leader pointed out.
Regarding the current round of talks in Bishkek, Vladimir Putin said they "focused on the issues of expanding bilateral cooperation in the military and military-technical spheres."
In turn, Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov said that he and his Russian counterpart had underscored the significant role that the Russian military base in Kant plays in ensuring the security of the region. Both leaders spoke in favor of “strengthening cooperation in the fight against international terrorism, extremism, drug and weapons trafficking, cybersecurity and other forms of transnational organized crime, both in a bilateral format and within international organizations," Japarov said.
During his two-day official visit to Kyrgyzstan, Putin will take part in the meeting of the CIS Council of Heads of State, as well as hold a number of bilateral meetings. The first day of the visit began with an official meeting in extended format between the Russian leader and his Kyrgyz counterpart.