‘No one has applied for the establishment of US military facilities in CSTO member states’: Lavrov

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, in a meeting with journalists, stated that the establishment of US military bases or other military facilities in the territories of CSTO member countries would require confirmation within the organization, and no such application has been submitted, according to TASS.

“All issues regarding the presence of foreign military personnel in the territory of any CSTO member state are subject to agreement within this framework, according to the charter. It is obvious that none of these countries has approached the CSTO regarding the need for the appropriate consultations,” said the Russian chief diplomat.

At the same time, he emphasized that the emergence of new military facilities in the territories of Central Asian countries contradicts the security interests of the region. “I do not believe that the security interests dictate having new US military bases in Central Asia,” Lavrov stated, commenting on The Wall Street Journal’s publication that the United States may relocate troops from Afghanistan to Central Asia.