KYRGYZSTAN’s parliament today ratified an agreement for a common air defence system with Russia, a day before Russian President Vladimir Putin visited the Central Asian country.

The agreement provided that a land plot of 5ha at the Kant Russian military base in Kyrgyzstan be used for the joint programme.

“Lawmakers examined and adopted the bill on the ratification of the agreement between the Kyrgyz Republic and the Russian Federation for the creation of a Joint Regional Air Defence System,” the Kyrgyz parliament said.

Putin had been scheduled to travel to Kant, but the Kyrgyz presidency told AFP today the visit was cancelled, without providing more details.

The Russian leader was still due to speak with his Kyrgyz counterpart Sadyr Japarov tomorrow, and attend a summit gathering leaders of post-Soviet countries the following day.

The agreement for a shared defence system between their two countries was valid for five years, Russian state-run news agency RIA Novosti reported.

Russia has similar deals with other allied countries including Kazakhstan, Belarus or Tajikistan.

The announcement came as criticism was levelled against Moscow’s Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), comprising six post-Soviet states.

CSTO members pledged to protect each other in case of an attack but Moscow refused to intervene when Azerbaijan launched an offensive on the ethnic Armenian separatist statelet of Nagorno-Karabakh.

The alliance has not sent peacekeeping troops to prevent border clashes between Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, which are both members. – AFP, October 11, 2023.