Russia Interested in Preserving Peace and Stability in Central Asia

Russia is interested in the preservation of peace and stability in the Central Asian region, said the Federation Council Speaker Sergei Mironov in Bishkek on Wednesday. He was meeting Altai Borubayev, speaker of the upper chamber of the Kirghiz parliament.

In the opinion of Mironov, the developments in the Persian Gulf may reverberate in Central Asia and "we should be ready for that".

The chairmen of the Russian and Kirghiz upper parliamentary chambers have reaffirmed their countries' positions that the Iraq war should be ended immediately.

In the present situation, it is extremely important to develop co-operation within the framework of the Collective Security Treaty, of which Russia and its Central Asian republics are members, Mironov said. He believes that unfolding a joint Russian-Kirghiz air base on Kirghizia's Kant airfield will be yet another guarantee of the preservation of peace and stability in the region.