Tajikistan has never signed any agreements with other countries on joint use of the Ayni military airfield and Tajikistan remains the only owner of this airfield, a senior source at the Ministry of Defense (MoD) of Tajikistan told Asia-Plus in an interview.
According to him, reports released by some foreign media outlets that the airfield has been leased to another country or jointly used with Russia, India or other countries do not correspond to the facts.
“According to existing agreements, the Ayni airfield can be jointly used during joint exercises of Tajikistan with nations being members of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) or with the armed forces of the Russian Federation, but no more,” the source said.
He further added that aircraft of other countries have not been deployed at the Ay military airfield.
Recall, the renovated Ayni airfield belonging to the Tajik Ministry of Defense was officially opened on September 3, 2010.
India contributed 70 million USD toward the renovation and sent specialists to help with the work. The airfield, located some 20 kilometers west of Dushanbe, now has state-of-the-art navigational and defense technology. Its runway was also extended to 3,200 meters so that all types of aircraft can land there.
