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ITAR-TASS News Agency, Russia
February 1, 2007 Thursday
It is not for Russia to settle Nagorno-Karabakh problem - Putin
Russian President Vladimir Putin asks Armenia and Azerbaijan not to
delegate to Russia the solution of bilateral problems, including the
settlement on Nagorno-Karabakh.
``This is a complicated question, and we are striving to help both
sides to arrive at a mutually-acceptable decision, but it must be
your decision,'' Putin said, answering the question of an Azerbaijani
journalist.
Putin said, ``Russian military bases remain in Armenia from the
Soviet Union's times.'' ``Our bases stay on in those former republics
whose leaders deemed possible their continued stay (as in Armenia,
Tajikistan, and Kyrgyzstan),'' he said.
``The Russian military base in Armenia is not aimed against any
countries of the region, is not directed against Azerbaijan's
interests, either,'' he assured. Putin recalled that the Russian base
in Georgia in the past had not been interfering in what was taking
place in Adzharia.
He suggested, jokingly, that Armenians and Azerbaijanis should set up
a joint project to produce Agdam port.
The 102nd Russian base in Armenian territory was set up under the
March 10, 1995 agreement. It is formed of Russian troops that were
part of the Transcaucasian military district. It is stationed in the
area of Yerevan and in the city of Gyumri. The aim of the base is to
protect strategic stability of the external boundary of the
Commonwealth of Independent States. The total numerical strength of
the base is 5,000.
The airbase at Kant, Kyrgyzstan, was opened on October 23, 2003 on
the basis of the Russian-Kyrgyz agreement valid for 15 years with
subsequent automatic extension. The base is an aviation component of
the rapid-deployment collective forces of the Collective Security
Treaty Organization, in whose framework Kyrgyzstan and Russia have
been actively cooperating from 1992. Some 500 Russian officers and
men are stationed at Kant.
Russia's military presence in Tajikistan is presented by military
base ``201''. It is based on the 201st motorized rifle division that
used to be deployed there. The base was opened on October 17, 2004.
It has the task of preserving peace and stability in Tajikistan and
in the entire Central Asian region. The total numerical strength of
the base is 6,800. It has an aviation group.
February 1, 2007 Thursday
It is not for Russia to settle Nagorno-Karabakh problem - Putin
Russian President Vladimir Putin asks Armenia and Azerbaijan not to
delegate to Russia the solution of bilateral problems, including the
settlement on Nagorno-Karabakh.
``This is a complicated question, and we are striving to help both
sides to arrive at a mutually-acceptable decision, but it must be
your decision,'' Putin said, answering the question of an Azerbaijani
journalist.
Putin said, ``Russian military bases remain in Armenia from the
Soviet Union's times.'' ``Our bases stay on in those former republics
whose leaders deemed possible their continued stay (as in Armenia,
Tajikistan, and Kyrgyzstan),'' he said.
``The Russian military base in Armenia is not aimed against any
countries of the region, is not directed against Azerbaijan's
interests, either,'' he assured. Putin recalled that the Russian base
in Georgia in the past had not been interfering in what was taking
place in Adzharia.
He suggested, jokingly, that Armenians and Azerbaijanis should set up
a joint project to produce Agdam port.
The 102nd Russian base in Armenian territory was set up under the
March 10, 1995 agreement. It is formed of Russian troops that were
part of the Transcaucasian military district. It is stationed in the
area of Yerevan and in the city of Gyumri. The aim of the base is to
protect strategic stability of the external boundary of the
Commonwealth of Independent States. The total numerical strength of
the base is 5,000.
The airbase at Kant, Kyrgyzstan, was opened on October 23, 2003 on
the basis of the Russian-Kyrgyz agreement valid for 15 years with
subsequent automatic extension. The base is an aviation component of
the rapid-deployment collective forces of the Collective Security
Treaty Organization, in whose framework Kyrgyzstan and Russia have
been actively cooperating from 1992. Some 500 Russian officers and
men are stationed at Kant.
Russia's military presence in Tajikistan is presented by military
base ``201''. It is based on the 201st motorized rifle division that
used to be deployed there. The base was opened on October 17, 2004.
It has the task of preserving peace and stability in Tajikistan and
in the entire Central Asian region. The total numerical strength of
the base is 6,800. It has an aviation group.