DUSHANBE, January 26, 2016, Asia-Plus – A group of Finnish observers, led by Lieutenant-Colonel Kari Aho, have arrived in Tajikistan to inspect facilities and daily operations at the Russian military base deployed in Tajikistan.
“Four Finnish officers will inspect facilities and daily operations of the Russian military base in Tajikistan in line with international agreements,” Colonel Yaroslav Roshchupkin, a spokesman for the Russian Central Military District, said on January 25.
According to him, the inspection will be carried out in accordance with the Vienna Document 2011 agreement between 56 participating states of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe aimed at implementing confidence- and security-building measures.
The Finnish observers will visit the 201st military base, attend the base commander’s briefing and inspect the scope of the base’s daily operations that are subject to full disclosure, Colonel Roshchupkin said.
The Russian military base deployed in Tajikistan is Russia”s largest non-naval military facility outside the country. It was officially opened in Tajikistan in 2004 under a previous agreement, which was signed in 1993, and hosts Russia’s largest military contingent deployed abroad.
A total of some 7,000 Russian troops are now stationed at two military facilities collectively known as the 201st military base – in Dushanbe and Qurghon Teppa, some 100 kilometers from Dushanbe.
