Russia is in negotiations with Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan about sending troops to Syria.
Vladimir Shamanov, head of the State Duma (Russia’s lower house of parliament) Defense Committee, reportedly said on June 22 that Russia has asked Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan to send troops to help monitor the de-escalation zones as part of attempts to end six years of bloody civil war in Syria.
“Negotiations are now going on, a process is being worked out so that Russian military police can contribute to providing security in Syria, and proposals to our colleagues in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan are being worked out as well,” Vladimir Shamanov told RIA Novosti in an interview.
Meanwhile, official representatives of the Foreign Ministry and the General Staff of Kyrgyzstan have reportedly not confirmed that information. They told Interfax news agency the same day that “negotiations are going on, but the decision on this subject will hardly be made before the presidential election.” The presidential election will take place in Kyrgyzstan in October this year.
The Hurriyet newspaper on June 22 cited Ibrahim Kalin, a spokesman for Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, as saying “Turkish forces will probably be most prominent in the Idlib region with the Russians; mostly Russia and Iran around Damascus.”
Kalin also said Russia had asked the two Central Asian countries about sending troops to Syria.
Meanwhile, The Diplomat notes that neither Astana nor Bishkek has any real experience in the field of monitoring a ceasefire in the midst of a horrendous civil war.
Both countries have reportedly participated in UN peacekeeping operations, but in a miniscule capacity. As of May, for example, Kazakhstan has an active contribution of five military experts to UN missions; Kyrgyzstan has 14 police, three military experts, and two troops contributed. Not exactly a deep well of experience on the international stage.
