MOSCOW. March 13 (Interfax-AVN) - Prospects for the deployment of a Russian airbase at the Kant airfield in Kyrgyzstan will be the key item at negotiations in Bishkek between the Russian and Kyrgyz defense ministries.
A Russian military delegation led by Air Force Commander-in- Chief Vladimir Mikhailov will pay a working visit to Kyrgyzstan on March 14-16, head of the Air Force press service Colonel Alexander Drobyshevsky told Interfax-Military News Agency.
"They will visit the Kant airfield and meet with the heads of the Kyrgyz Defense Ministry to discuss the setting up of a Russian airbase at the field and joint reconstruction of the field's infrastructure," Drobyshevsky noted.
"The delegations will coordinate the main points of a draft agreement between Russia and Kyrgyzstan on the status and terms of presence of the Russian airbase on the republic's territory," he noted.
The Russian aviation group to be deployed to the Kant airfield, 20 kilometers from Bishkek, will be made up of SU-27 Flanker fighter jets, SU-25 Frogfoot assault jets and MI-8 Hip helicopters.
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.