CHOLPON-ATA, Kyrgyzstan. Aug 3 (Interfax-AVN) - Up to one battalion of Russian troops and a training center for Russian and Kyrgyz servicemen will be set up in Kyrgyzstan, according to a memorandum signed by Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Saturday.
The memorandum envisions "the drafting and signing by November 1, 2009 of an agreement between Russia and Kyrgyzstan on status and conditions of a unified Russian military base's presence on the Kyrgyz Republic's territory."
The new agreement will be valid 49 years and can be automatically extended for 25-year periods.
Welcoming Medvedev in his residence, Bakiyev said he hoped that "all the participants in the informal CSTO [Collective Security Treaty Organization] summit will make conclusions on improving cooperation within the CSTO."
"The time obliges us," he added.
Medvedev wished Bakiyev a happy birthday and noted that this day is passing "in a businesslike and friendly atmosphere."
"Yesterday, we discussed the current situation and prospects and problems of the CSTO development," Medvedev said.
"We are preparing for first exercises of the collective operational response forces," he said.
"Summits like the one we had yesterday are especially valuable," Medvedev said.