MOSCOW. March 4 (Interfax-AVN) - There are no plans to deploy new Russian military bases in Kyrgyzstan, and no talks are being held on this issue, a source in the secretariat of the Collective Security Treaty Organization told Interfax-AVN.
"No plans are being discussed on the deployment of a military base or anti-terror center in southern Kyrgyzstan. We were in talks on this issue only with the former Kyrgyz leadership," he said.
But deployment of a specialized center for combating drug trafficking under CSTO aegis would have sense and the Russian Federal Drug Control Service is working on relevant proposals, he said.
Fears that American or NATO military contingents may be stationed in Central Asia on a permanent basis are baseless, the source said. "Although they have their interests there, they will not venture such a step," the source said.
The CSTO is comprised of Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.