MOSCOW. Aug 5 (Interfax-AVN) - Russian military presence in Kyrgyzstan will bring stability to Central Asia, a Foreign Ministry source said.
"Our military presence will be a factor of stability and security in the region," the source told Interfax in comments on the Uzbek Foreign Ministry's statement earlier this week, opposing plans to deploy Russian servicemen in Kyrgyzstan.
The Uzbek Foreign Ministry's statement dealt with the proposed deployment of a military base in southern Kyrgyzstan, he said.
"However, we have said on many occasions, and so did Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Cholpon-Ata [a resort in Kyrgyzstan, where a summit of the Collective Security Treaty Organization was held last week] that the geographical location has yet to be chosen," the diplomat said.
The place where the base will be deployed will be agreed in Russia's contacts with partners in the CSTO, he said.
The Uzbek Foreign Ministry's information agency Jahon said on Tuesday that stability in the Ferghana Valley in Central Asia could be jeopardized, should Russian servicemen be deployed in southern Kyrgyzstan.
Kyrgyz Ambassador to Russia Raimkul Attakurov told a news conference in Moscow earlier on Wednesday that Kyrgyzstan had the sovereign right to host a Russian military base.