In Tajikistan, Moscow is now showing increasing interest in the Ayni military airfield, 15 miles (25 km) west of Dushanbe, as a possible base for elements of the Russian air force (VVS). Talks are underway between the defense ministries of both countries, exploring the terms of use for the Russian air force. Dushanbe would prefer joint use of the airfield, but Moscow reportedly wants sole use, based on an offer to invest $5 million to complete construction work at Ayni (Nezavisimaya Gazeta, October 28). If Moscow succeeds in securing the exclusive use of Ayni for its air force, this will be a departure from the role and function of Russian air force deployments in Central Asia, since the base at Kant in the Kyrgyz Republic forms the air support component of the Collective Rapid Deployment Forces of the Collective Security Treaty Organization CSTO.
Speculation over the future of Ayni, which fell into disuse after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, has grown since India invested heavily in upgrading the runway and expanded hangers, which some thought was a precursor to the deployment of India's air force in Tajikistan. There has, in fact, been considerable interest in the possible use of the facility, reportedly from the United States and NATO, particularly France. The French examined Ayni as an alternative to the capital Dushanbe for its Mirage fighter jets, which support antiterrorist operations in Afghanistan.
| So is this a counter to India's interest in the region, a way to pressure the Indians to fork over the money for the Gorshkov, or a way for Putin to put pressure on us in Afghanistan and Pak-land? |
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