Kyrgyzstan ratifies agreement on joint air defense system with Russia
The Kyrgyz parliament has ratified the agreement on establishing a joint regional system (JRS) of air defense with Russia, according to the press service of the Supreme Council of Kyrgyzstan.
What happened? Members of the Supreme Council approved the agreement on the establishment of a joint air defense system with Russia.
«In order to meet obligations under the agreement Kyrgyzstan will allocate a land parcel of five hectares near the Russian base in the town of Kant. It will be available as long the agreement is valid,» the agreement says.
The context. Russia controls several military facilities in Kyrgyzstan. The biggest one is the air base in Kant, which has been operating since 2003. Russia pays about $4.8 million for the rent of the 58 hectares from Kyrgyzstan.
What is the key point of the agreement? The agreement is going to last five years and may be prolonged after that period. According to the document, the Russian side will be responsible for the coordination of the JRS of air defense, while Kyrgyzstan will control the joint operation of air defense within the area of collective security.
«Establishing the joint system doesn’t mean that we will have free access to their radiolocation devices. This means that we will be able to receive some crucial data from their system because we don’t have such capabilities,» Kyrgyz expert Tokon Mamytov said.
According to the Kyrgyz editorial office of Azzatyk, Russia has already signed similar agreements with other member states of the CIS, including Kazakhstan. However, all those agreements were signed before the war in Ukraine started, while Kyrgyzstan did so during the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine. The Turkish edition of TRT believes that Kyrgyzstan is trying to get closer to Russia, while many other states prefer to distance themselves from the Kremlin.
The agreement was signed in August 2022. In May 2023, President Vladimir Putin of Russia signed the document into law.
What is air defense? Air defense is the set of measures and technical tools specially designed for protection from hostile attacks with missiles, unmanned aerial vehicles and jets.
