Russian President Vladimir Putin in June offered U.S. counterpart Joe Biden the use of Russian military bases in Central Asia for information gathering from Afghanistan as American troops leave the country, the Kommersant newspaper reported on Saturday
Putin reportedly made the offer at a June 16 meeting with U.S. President Biden in Geneva. For coordination on Afghanistan, Putin said the US could use Russian bases in Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan.
The exchange of information obtained using drones, the report said, adding there had been no concrete response from the US.
Meanwhile, the Associated Press (AP), citing the Russian Mezhdunarodnaya Zhizn magazine, says Russia has strongly warned the United States against deploying its troops in the former Soviet Central Asian nations following their withdrawal from Afghanistan, a senior diplomat said in remarks published on Tuesday.
Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said that Moscow conveyed the message to Washington during Russian President Vladimir Putin’s summit with U.S. President Joe Biden in Geneva last month.
“I would emphasize that the redeployment of the American permanent military presence to the countries neighboring Afghanistan is unacceptable,” Ryabkov said. “We told the Americans in a direct and straightforward way that it would change a lot of things not only in our perceptions of what’s going on in that important region, but also in our relations with the United States.”
He added that Russia has also issued the warning to Central Asian nations.
“We cautioned them against such steps, and we also have had a frank talk on the subject with our Central Asian allies, neighbors and friends and also other countries in the region that would be directly affected,” Ryabkov said in an interview published in the Mezhdunarodnaya Zhizn magazine.
