Russia increased its supply of weapons and military equipment to Uzbekistan and Tajikistan during the fighting in Afghanistan, Interfax quoted the Russian military on Thursday. Chief of Staff Valery Gerasimov.
Russia maintains important military bases in the two poorest countries in Central Asia, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan.
Gerasimov participated in a joint Uzbek-Russian military exercise near the Afghan border in Tashkent but did not provide details such as what weapons were supplied.
Russia is also conducting exercises this week in Tajikistan, another former Soviet republic that borders Afghanistan. Regarding the exercise in Uzbekistan, Moscow said on Thursday that it will even deploy four strategic bombers.
Since US-led forces began to complete the withdrawal in September, the security situation in Afghanistan has deteriorated rapidly, unleashing offensives by Taliban insurgents and achieving significant territorial gains.
The Russian army chief of staff arrived in Central Asia on Thursday, as Russia was conducting military exercises in two ex-Soviet countries bordering Afghanistan, and Kabul was trying to contain the fierce Taliban offensive.
Russian Army Chief of Staff Valery Gerasimov flew to Uzbekistan, the most populous country in Central Asia, to observe joint military exercises between Russia and Uzbekistan.
On Thursday, the two armies also held exercises with neighboring Tajikistan.
During a meeting with the President of Uzbekistan, Shukhrat Khalmukhamedov, Gerasimov stated that the exercise was carried out while the situation in the region had deteriorated and that it was “to take measures to repel the threat of terrorism.” According to a statement from the Russian Defense Ministry, Gerasimov is expected to meet with other senior Uzbek officials. He said: “The main threat to Central Asia today comes from Afghanistan.”
Moscow is positioned as a defense against possible transfers from Afghanistan. It spread to the stronghold of Central Asia, although skeptical of military cooperation between the countries of the region and the United States.
A joint exercise at the KharbMaidon training ground, just 20 kilometers from the Tajikistan-Afghanistan border, involved 2,500 soldiers from Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. 4,444 Another 1,500 soldiers participated in the exercise that began at the Termez training camp in Uzbekistan late last month.
Fighting in the long-running conflict in Afghanistan began to escalate in May when the United States and other foreign forces began the first phase of withdrawal to be completed later this month.
The Taliban have taken control of large areas of rural areas and are now challenging the Afghan government forces in several large cities.
Uzbekistan, which has the largest standing army in Central Asia, withdrew from the Russian-led Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) military bloc for the second time in 2012.
Tashkent did not rejoin the group of six former Soviet countries, but under the leadership of President Shavkat Mirziyoev, who has been in power since 2016, it has strengthened bilateral military cooperation with Moscow.
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