KANT, Kyrgyzstan. Oct 9 (Interfax-AVN) - About 150 Russian servicemen have arrived at the Kant airbase in Kyrgyzstan, Air Force Commander-in-Chief Vladimir Mikhailov told Interfax- Military News Agency on Thursday.
In total, the Kant airbase "will have about 500 Russian servicemen and up to 20 aircraft," he said.
"Warplanes will start arriving at the base next week," Mikhailov noted.
Equipment and other cargo for the airbase have been brought to Kant on three flights by IL-76 Candid military cargo planes, he said.
Asked about contacts with NATO specialists stationed in Kyrgyzstan, Mikhailov said, "we regard them as our colleagues, and we will not get in each other's way."
Mikhailov is visiting Kyrgyzstan to discuss the official opening of the Russian airbase in Kant on October 23.
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.