Tajikistan Says No Need For Western Military In Region
July 19, 2005
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19 July 2005 -- Tajik Foreign Minister Talbak Nazarov said today that since the threat of Afghanistan for Central Asia has declined, the presence of Western military in the region is not needed.
Speaking to journalists in Dushanbe, Nazarov said there was no need for the permanent presence of military troops of the U.S.-led coalition in the region as Afghanistan is stabilizing.
Some 200 French Air Force personnel and two transport aircraft are currently based at Dushanbe airport to support operations in Afghanistan.
Elsewhere in Central Asia, the U.S. military is using the Khanabad air base near the southern Uzbek city of Karshi and the Ganci air base near the Kyrgyz capital Bishkek.
(Interfax)
See: Central Asia: Is Regional Turbulence Return Of The Great Game?