Kyrgyz President, Russian Defence Minister on anti-terror co-operation

Kyrgyz President Askar Akayev and Russian Defence Minister Sergei Ivanov met Thursday in Bishkek and turned out to stand together on the situation in Afghanistan and around it. They voiced their resolve to further cooperate in the fight against international terrorism, Sergei Ivanov said following the meeting.

During the meeting, Akayev thanked the Russian side and, above all, the Russian defence ministry for their assistance in strengthening Kyrgyzstan's defence and in combating international terrorism and extremism.

Sergei Ivanov met Thursday Kyrgyz Defence Minister Esen Topoyev with whom he expects to sign an agreement on extending the mandate of the Russian military facilities on Kyrgyz territory, and some other interdisciplinary documents. "This will complete the formation of the regulatory and legal base of Russo-Kyrgyz military and military-technical co-operation," said Sergei Ivanov.

Both ministers spoke positively of co-operation between the two agencies, above all, in strengthening air defence and training the Kyrgyz armed forces. According to Esen Topoyev, 90 percent of the Kyrgyz officers are graduates of the military colleges of the Russian Defence Ministry.

On Thursday, Sergei Ivanov will leave for Cholpon-Ata on the northern coast of Issyk-Kul lake to attend a routine session of the CIS Defence Ministers Council.

On June 15th, Sergei Ivanov together with other defence ministers of the countries party to the Collective Security Treaty /Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Armenia/ will participate in the active phase of the collective rapid deployment forces training. On the same day, the Russian minister will leave the Kyrgyz capital for Kazakhstan for further exercises on the territory of the republic.