KUBINKA (Moscow region), June 16. /TASS/. The military of Russia and Kyrgyzstan must be prepared to counter any threats to the collective security system of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) in the region in connection with the withdrawal of international forces from Afghanistan, Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu said on Tuesday.
"We consider cooperation with Kyrgyzstan in the military sphere to be a priority. Our cooperation is an important factor of preserving stability in the Central Asian region," the minister told his Kyrgyz counterpart Abibulla Kudaiberdiyev. The meeting took place in the framework of the Army-2015 international military and technical forum. "The armed forces of our countries must be ready for any scenario, including the negative one."
To that end, it is necessary to boost the combat capabilities of the Russian military base and the Kyrgyz army, Shoigu noted. He recalled that "contacts had been signed to transfer modern Russian weapons and equipment to the Kyrgyz side, their deliveries were under way." In addition to that, personnel for Kyrgyzstan’s army undergoes training free of charge at the universities of the Russian Defense Ministry. "At present 316 service members are undergoing training, we are ready to admit more than 150 people in 2015," Shoigu added.