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Medvedev, Rakhmon prolong military base agreement for 49 yrs

The agreement was reached at a meeting in Dushanbe between the two countries' presidents, Dmitry Medvedev and Emomali Rakhmon

DUSHANBE, September 2 (Itar-Tass) —— The agreement on the deployment of a Russian military base in Tajikistan will be extended for another 49 years. The agreement was reached at a meeting in Dushanbe between the two countries' presidents, Dmitry Medvedev and Emomali Rakhmon.

"We agreed to instruct our departments and agencies concerned to achieve in the first quarter of next year the signing of a new agreement (on the deployment of a Russian military base in Tajikistan) for 49 years," Medvedev said after Russian-Tajik talks.

About a likely date when such a document might be ready for signature, he said that "this kind of arrangement should always be well developed and at the same time it must reflect a balance of interests between our two countries."

The Russian president said that along with his Tajik counterpart he would like to see the necessary decisions made on time.

Rakhmon said that the Russian military presence in Tajikistan was an important factor for maintaining stability and security in the region. He said that "proceeding from the common responsibility for stability and security in Central Asia the parties confirmed their commitment to further strengthening military and military-technical cooperation."

The Russian military base in Tajikistan was formed on the basis of the 201st infantry division in 2004 in accordance with an intergovernmental agreement. Currently, it is the biggest army unit outside Russia. It has a strength of 6,000 officers and men.