DUSHANBE. July 22 (Interfax-AVN) - A Russian Defense Ministry delegation is currently visiting Dushanbe to discuss the details of creating a military base in Tajikistan on the basis of the 201st motorized rifle division.
The Russian delegation is headed by Colonel General Alexander Morozov, the chief-of-staff of the Land Forces, a source in the Tajik defense and security agencies told Interfax on Tuesday.
The Russian delegation had a meeting with Tajik officials in the Tajik Defense Ministry on Tuesday. No documents were signed during this meting, the source told Interfax. The discussions that are expected to take place during this visit will touch upon the details of the so-called framework agreement, the source said.
The interstate framework agreement on creating a Russian military base in Tajikistan was signed on April 16, 1999 and subsequently ratified by Russia and Tajikistan. The parties are currently finalizing additional agreements regulating the base's routine activity.
Tajikistan has not demanded rent for the base so far.
The 201st division was established in 1943 as a component of the Leningrad front and subsequently fought on the Karelian Isthmus.
The division was the last to leave Afghanistan in 1989 and was stationed in the cities of Dushanbe, Kurgan-Tyube and Kulyab.
By 1992, the division played the decisive role in preserving order and protecting locals, especially in Dushanbe and Kurgan- Tyube during the civil war in Tajikistan.
In 1993, the division became a component of the CIS Collective Peacekeeping Forces in Tajikistan. From 1993 to 1998 the division accomplished peacekeeping missions and the missions assigned by the CIS Collective Security Treaty.
At the moment the division is a fully deployed regular unit of the Russian Armed Forces. Its total strength does not exceed 7,500 personnel, according to the division command.
The division's life support system allows it to function autonomously, if necessary. It can even establish its own general education schools and hospitals.
The division is reinforced by aviation, including MI-8 Hip and MI-24 Hind helicopters.