"Today there are deliberate efforts by the West on assertive invasion, including humanitarian and military one, into Central Asia ... The development assistance programs promoted by Western geopolitical engineers are in fact instruments of controlling and reformatting the political-economic landscape of the region as they see fit. We urge our friends to critically consider military cooperation and law enforcement training programs imposed by the West," Lavrov said at the Russian-Tajik (Slavonic) University in Dushanbe.
Lavrov arrived in Tajikistan on a visit on Monday. Earlier in the day, he met with his Tajik counterpart, Sirojiddin Muhriddin. The sides discussed issues of bilateral relations, prospects for further development of political, trade, economic and humanitarian ties.
Russia to Continue Assisting Tajikistan in Army Modernization
We talked about the implementation of agreements on military and military-technical cooperation, including the implementation of the program of modernization of Tajikistan's armed forces. We will continue to provide appropriate assistance to Dushanbe. All the planned amounts [of support] will be fulfilled," Lavrov said after the meeting with Muhriddin.
Russia is grateful to Tajikistan for creating conditions for its 201st Military Base and for carrying out activities there, the minister added.
Tajikistan hosts Russian 201st Military Base, one of Russia's largest foreign military facilities, which is deployed in the cities of Dushanbe and Bokhtar. The number of military personnel is about 7,500. Lavrov visited the base on June 5.