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Tajikistan praises bilateral drills with Russia near Afghan border

The Russia-Tajikistan bilateral drills brought together 1,000 troops, combat vehicles, tanks, artillery and various types of advanced armaments

DUSHANBE, October 22. /TASS/. Tajikistan’s Defense Minister Sherali Mirzo praised the interaction of Tajik and Russian troops during bilateral drills that took place at the Momirak training ground 15-20 km from the Tajik-Afghan border, Spokesman for the Defense Ministry of Tajikistan Faridun Makhmadalizoda told TASS on Friday.

As the spokesman pointed out, the Tajik defense minister "commended troop interoperability in accomplishing combat tasks required for the states’ defense capability."

"In his speech, the republic’s defense chief stressed that military units need to be on high alert over the developments on the territory of Afghanistan and the unstable situation in the region," Makhmadalizoda said.

Secretary of Tajikistan’s Security Council Nasrullo Makhmudzoda and Chief of the CSTO (Collective Security Treaty Organization) Joint Staff Anatoly Sidorov also watched the Tajik-Russian drills, the spokesman said.

The Russia-Tajikistan bilateral drills brought together 1,000 troops, combat vehicles, tanks, artillery and various types of advanced armaments, according to the Tajik Defense Ministry’s data.

As reported earlier, the units of the Russian 201st military base stationed in Tajikistan and the Tajik troops practiced tactical assignments at the Momirak practice range to rout infiltrated notional outlawed armed gangs. As Russian Central Military District Deputy Commander Lieutenant-General Yevgeny Poplavsky said, the joint combat training of Russian and Tajik troops is aimed at preventing threats that may arise outside Tajikistan or Russia.

On October 18, 2021, the post-Soviet security bloc kicked off the Echelon 2021 and Search 2021 special drills and the Interaction 2021 joint maneuvers at the Kharbmaidon training ground in Tajikistan as part of the CSTO’s Combat Brotherhood 2021 operational and strategic exercise.

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