Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in Tashkent yesterday that Russia’s Central Asian allies have all indicated that they have no intention of hosting any U.S. military forces which the U.S. is moving out of Afghanistan. “As for the plans by the Americans, that they are in fact making public and actively promoting, they seek to persuade Central Asian countries and Pakistan, in particular, to use their territory for accommodating some military infrastructure, which the Americans are moving out of Afghanistan,” Lavrov said, reported TASS.
“First of all, Pakistan and Uzbekistan have already officially stated that this is out of the question and they will not use their territory to host such infrastructure. We conferred both in bilateral contacts, and now at the meeting of foreign ministers of five Central Asian states plus Russia on this issue. None of our allies has stated their intention to subject its territory and population to such a risk,” the Russian foreign minister stressed. (His remarks are posted to the Foreign Ministry website, as well: https://www.mid.ru/en/foreign_policy/news/-/asset_publisher/cKNonkJE02Bw/content/id/4815366)
