Azernews.Az

By Sara Rajabova, AzerNews Staff Writer

Nowadays, the Central Asian region plays an important role in the strategic plans of the superpowers. Especially the United States and Russia have their own interests in the region and struggle for influence over the regional countries.

However, some time ago, the U.S. said it has no intention to station new military bases in Central Asia after a withdrawal of its military base from Manas in Kyrgyzstan in 2014.

But according to the Russian newspaper Kommersant, the USA launched talks with Uzbekistan in order to increase its presence in this country. It aims to set up the Operative Reaction Center in Uzbekistan. The military arsenal of the Center is to be formed with military equipment of NATO, which plans to withdraw its troops from Afghanistan by 2014. It is planned to transform this center into a military base of the U.S., Kommersant reported.

Certainly, the talks between the U.S. and Uzbekistan yielded some fruit and resulted in the Uzbek withdrawal from the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), a Russia-led bloc of former Soviet states. Thus, it is not in favor of Russia. The military presence of the U.S. and NATO in the region is a big headache for Russia.

Russia has military bases in Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. However, the two Central Asian states require large amounts of money from Russia for the use of the military bases. Media reports say that Tajikistan is asking for at least $250 million from Russia for the continued presence of the 201st Russian military base, but the reports have not been officially confirmed. The 201st base is the largest land base outside Russia. The facility, with units located in three Tajik cities -- in the capital and two cities in the south -- was established in 2004 for 10 years.

On the other hand, Kyrgyzstan planned to raise the lease for Russian military facilities on its soil from 2014. However, in the beginning of the year, Russian-Kyrgyz relations deteriorated sharply. In February Kyrgyzstan President Almazbek Atambayev announced a probable shutdown of the Russian military base, though the agreement on the operation of the military base was extended for 49 years in 2009. Russia pays $4.5 million annually to use the military facility.

At present Russia can't afford a change in the balance of powers in the region. Therefore, it is holding negotiations with Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan over the unsolved issues.

Russia has been negotiating with Tajikistan extension of the Russian military base operation for a fourth year.

Russia held talks on the terms of the 201st Russian military base's extended operation in Tajikistan in Dushanbe last Wednesday. Dushanbe and Moscow reached an agreement on the conditions of a further stay of the 201st Russian military base in Tajikistan, sources close to the negotiations told CA-News.

The Russian delegation was headed by Deputy Defense Minister Anatoly Antonov. The Tajik delegation was headed by Minister of Justice Rustam Mengliev. Antonov held meetings with the Tajik leaders.

CA-News said that a new agreement excludes the possibility of charging for the continued presence of the base. According to the draft agreement, Russia will increase the quota for staff training for the Tajik army at Russian military schools, as well as provide the Tajik army with modern technology and weapons, the sources said.

The new agreement is expected to be signed in October during Russian President Vladimir Putin's visit to Dushanbe, reports say.

At the same time, Russia continues holding talks with Kyrgyzstan. The Kyrgyz parliament has started hearings to revise agreements determining the status and maintenance of Russian military facilities located on the territory of the Central Asian state, RIA Novosti news agency reported.

Moscow and Bishkek signed in August a new deal which extends the presence of Russian military facilities in Kyrgyzstan for another 15 years. Their status is currently regulated by five intergovernmental agreements.

"Russia has proposed to combine all previous agreements in one to facilitate the regulation process," Kyrgyz Deputy Defense Minister Zamir Suyerkulov told lawmakers at a parliamentary session early last week.

"The new status agreement should come into force in 2017," he said.

Kyrgyzstan hosts the Russian airbase in Kant, some 20 kilometers (12 miles) outside the capital, Bishkek, a naval communications center in the village of Chaldovar in the Chui region, a naval testing site near the city of Karakol, 380 km (240 miles) from Bishkek, and a radio-seismic laboratory in Mailuu-Sai, which is part of the unified automated system designed to detect the testing and use of nuclear weapons around the world, as well as earthquakes.