Russia to protect security of CSTO partners when coalition troops leave Afghanistan

MOSCOW. KAZINFORM - Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said on Monday that Russia had started deliveries of modern Russian weapons to Kyrgyzstan last December in connection with the latest developments in Afghanistan, Itar-Tass reports.

"I would like to focus on questions which need to be solved especially in view of the forthcoming withdrawal of the coalition forces from Afghanistan in 2014. In this connection, we should do everything to provide maximum security for our colleagues and partners at the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO)," Shoigu said as he opened talks with his Kyrgyz counterpart Taalaibek Omuraliyev. "We are ready to give all-round support to Kyrgyzstan in the provision of its security. The events that are taking place in Afghanistan make this support particularly urgent," Shoigu emphasized. The Russian defense minister added that the army of the Kyrgyz Republic would be equipped with modern Russian weapons. "All the necessary contracts have been signed. As we agreed, we made our first deliveries last December, a little bit earlier than provided by the Russian-Kyrgyz agreement," Shoigu said.