MOSCOW. Oct 22 (Interfax-AVN) - The Russian Defense Ministry and the Tajik Foreign Ministry are negotiating a fee Russia will have to pay for using the 201st base in Tajikistan.
"Proposals are being drafted on the free use of the 201st base in development of the agreements the Russian and Tajik presidents reached in Dushanbe on July 30, 2009," says a report posted ahead of the state visit of Tajik President Emomali Rakhmon to Russia.
The media said in September with reference to anonymous sources that Dushanbe demanded an annual payment of $300 million for using the base.
The base status will be a key item of the Moscow negotiations of the Tajik presidents, a representative of the Tajik Foreign Ministry told Interfax.
"The Russian contingent in Tajikistan - the 201st base - is a serious factor of regional stabilization," a Kremlin source said.
The 201st motorized infantry division deployed in Tajikistan in 1946 was the core of the base. Over 6,000 servicemen are at the base now. The base is a component of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) Operational Reaction Forces.