Russia has increased arms supplies to Central Asian countries to repel possible terrorist threats, Army General Valery Gerasimov, chief of the Russian Armed Forces General Staff, said Thursday.
"In order to respond to the worsening situation in the region and to practice actions to repel terrorist threats, a number of joint exercises have been planned both on the territory of Uzbekistan and on the territory of Tajikistan. Additional supplies of weapons, equipment and military property were organized as part of military-technical assistance," he said during a meeting with his Uzbek colleague Shukhrat Khalmukhamedov.
Gerasimov noted that Russia also provides "methodical assistance in improving" the Armed Forces of Uzbekistan and also trains qualified personnel for them in Russian military universities.
In Afghanistan, government forces have been confronting the Taliban (banned in the Russian Federation) for several years. In recent months the Taliban have seized large territories in rural and border areas and launched attacks on large cities.
The escalation occurs against the background of the withdrawal of US troops, which Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov called the recognition of the failure of the US mission in Afghanistan.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: official website of the President of RF
Based on materials RIA Novosti