Russia to hold joint drills with Uzbekistan, Tajikistan near Afghan border

Yekaterinburg [Russia] July 19 (ANI/Sputnik): Russia, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan will hold joint military exercises in August in Tajikistan’s Khatlon region bordering Afghanistan, Commander of Russia’s Central Military District, Col. Gen. Alexander Lapin, said on Monday.

“In early August we will take part in a joint exercise with military contingents of the armed forces of the republics of Tajikistan and Uzbekistan at the Kharbmaydon range. During the exercises, we will train the preparations for conducting a joint military action aimed at eliminating illegal armed groups invading the territory of an allied state,” Lapin told journalists.

The exercises will take place from August 5-10, the commander said. According to a press office of the Central Military District, units of the Tajikistan-based 201st Military Base, including tank, artillery and special purpose squads, will be “the core” of the Russian contingent during the exercises.

The announcement comes amid a spike in violence in Afghanistan from the Taliban movement (designated terrorist and banned in Russia) as international troops are gradually being withdrawn from the country. The troop pullout was one of the points of an agreement the Taliban and the United States reached in Doha in February of last year. (ANI/Sputnik)