YEKATERINBURG/BISHKEK. Oct 9 (Interfax-AVN) - Russian Air Force Commander-in-Chief Vladimir Mikhailov has left for Bishkek to discuss issues related to the official opening of the Russian airbase in the Kyrgyz community of Kant, chief of the Air Force press service Colonel Alexander Drobyshevsky said on Thursday.
After taking of from the Chkalovsky airfield not far from Moscow, the IL-18 Coot plane carrying an Air Force Staff delegation led by Mikhailov made an intermediate landing in the Siberian city of Yekaterinburg for refueling, Drobyshevsky told Interfax-Military News Agency. Later it left Yekaterinburg and headed for Bishkek.
The IL-18 also carries officers who will serve in Kant and technical cargo for the airbase, Drobyshevsky said. Another plane, an IL-76 Candid military transport, left Yekaterinburg for Bishkek early on Thursday to deliver more cargo to the airbase.
A high-ranking official of the Kyrgyz Defense Ministry told Interfax-AVN that Mikhailov's talks during the visit will focus on the transfer of the Kant military airfield's infrastructure to the Russian party for use in the framework of the Collective Security Treaty Organization.
"Special commissions under the Russian and Kyrgyz defense ministries are expected to work on the transfer and commissioning of the military airfield's facilities, as the mechanism of transferring all facilities of the Kant airfield to Russian Air Force bodies is still being coordinated," the source said.
According to the Russian Defense Ministry, four SU-27 Flanker fighters, five SU- 25 Frogfoot attack planes, including a combat one, and an AN-26 Curl military transport plane will be stationed at the base on the initial stage. In addition, two MI-8 Hind helicopters of the Russian Air Force will be stationed at the base.
The Russian-Kyrgyz agreement on the base signed in Moscow on September 22 does not impose any limitations on the number and types of planes that can be stationed at the Kant airbase. The number of aircraft that will be located at the Kant base is determined by the Russian Defense Ministry, and all the changes made to this number will be cleared with the Kyrgyz party. They will depend on the situation in the region.
Russia will spend USD50m annually on the maintenance of the Kant base.