Joint military drills involving 2,500 servicemen of Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan at the Kharb-Maidon practice range 20 km from the Afghan border have been completed. It was announced by Colonel General Alexander Lapin, Commander of the troops of the Central Military District.
‘We are completing joint military drills of the armed forces of Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and the Russian Federation. For the first time, the use of a interspecific grouping of forces with massive use of aircraft, reconnaissance-fire complexes and air assault was demonstrated, based on the experience received in the Syrian Arab Republic’, Lapin said.
He noted that the military drills were conducted against the backdrop of the escalating situation in Afghanistan and the threat of radical terrorist groups penetrating into the bordering countries of the Central Asian region. ‘I am convinced that future joint actions will allow us to consolidate the military commonwealth and protect our countries from combat aggression’, the Commander of the Central Asian military district added.
For his part, Minister of Defense of Tajikistan Colonel General Sherali Mirzo said that such anti-terrorist military drills were held for the first time in the history of military cooperation between the three countries. ‘Over the past few years, there has been a transfer of tensions from the Middle East to Afghanistan. The analysis of the processes taking place in recent years shows that the situation in our region will depend on developments in the political situation in that country’, he specified.
Major General Shukhrat Kholmukhamedov, Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Uzbekistan, also expressed his concern about the situation in Afghanistan. ‘The situation requires us to be constantly vigilant and maintain combat readiness’, he said.
A total of 2,500 troops, including 1,800 from Russia, and around 500 pieces of weapons and military equipment were involved in the military drills by the three countries. Units of the 201st Military Base formed the core of the Russian military contingent for the military drills.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation
Based on materials from TASS