MOSCOW. Jan 20 (Interfax-AVN) -Russian air force officials are flying to Kyrgyzstan to discuss the establishment of a Russian air base in that country.
"A delegation of generals and officers, led by Deputy Commander of the Russian Air Force Lieutenant General Anatoly Nagovitsyn, will visit Bishkek from January 20 to 23," the Russian Air Force's spokesman Colonel Alexander Drobyshevsky told Interfax-Military News Agency.
Russian and Kyrgyz military officials are expected to negotiate interstate agreements on the location of a Russian air base in Kant, 20 kilometers from Bishkek, comprising SU-27 Flanker fighter jets and SU-25 Frogfoot attack planes, as well as MI-8 Hip helicopters, he said.
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov earlier said that the structure and term of the Russian air base's presence in Kyrgyzstan will be agreed upon in the spring of 2003. "The final decision will be made by the presidents of the signatories to the Collective Security Treaty in April or May, 2003," said Ivanov.
"The presence of an air base will make the signatory-states' joint rapid-reaction forces stronger and even more mobile. We shall be able to rebuff any terrorist attack," Ivanov said.
Joint rapid-reaction forces are "the main element of stability in Central Asia," the Russian defense minister said.