As negotiations between Dushanbe and Moscow continue over how much Russia should be paying for its use of military facilities in Tajikistan, the price apparently keeps rising. The Tajikistan government is demanding $300 million a year for the use of the Ayni air base outside Dushanbe, according to a report in RIA Novosti. In January, Russian media were reporting that the asking price was a mere $125 million per year. Tajikistan's foreign minister Hamrokhon Zarifi told a press conference Monday that ""Russia is our important strategic partner..." but "our land cannot be free; it has its price, and no one can use it without paying." (He didn't, however, mention a specific ruble figure.)
Zarifi also said that Russian border guards would not be returning to Tajikistan, as Moscow has requested, and downplayed the U.S. role in the new training center at Qaratogh, reported Asia Plus:
Commenting on rumors about deployment of the United States military base in Tajikistan, Zarifi noted that Tajikistan has never conducted negotiation with the United Sates on that issue and “such a dialogue is not expected in the foreseeable future.”
“As far as the construction of the live-fire training building at the National Training Center at Qaratogh is concerned, the construction of the center is carried out under financial support of the United States, the center itself is property of Tajikistan,” the minister said.
As RIA Novosti notes, Tajikistan has been asking for rent for a few years on the bases it already operates, without success. If Russia keeps refusing, what exactly could Tajikistan do? That would not be an easy eviction. As for Ayni, it's not clear whether Russia actually wants to use the base, or just to prevent other countries from using it. So Russia may just be content with the status quo -- let's see if Tajikistan has any way of forcing them to move.
Joshua Kucera, a senior correspondent, is Eurasianet's former Turkey/Caucasus editor and has written for the site since 2007.
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