Moscow's military-technical aid for Bishkek partly aimed at fighting ISIL - Shoigu
MOSCOW. Dec 23 (Interfax) - Russia provides military-technical aid to Kyrgyzstan to fight ISIL (banned in Russia) and other terrorist organizations on the Afghan track, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu has said.
"For our part, we are doing all we can to implement the plan to re-fit the Kyrgyz Armed Forces so they can counter the threats which emanate (from Afghanistan)," Shoigu said at a meeting with the chief of the Kyrgyz Armed Forces General Staff Col. Zhanybek Kaparov in Moscow on Wednesday.
"The threats are real," Shoigu said. "We can see them. So can you, I think," he said to Kaparov.
Russia "fully implements everything that has to do with supplying arms and military equipment, reinforcing the Russian base, the aviation group, and the training of specialists for the Kyrgyz armed forces at Russia's military schools," Shoigu said.
"I hope all this will most favorably facilitate and foster the ability to counter the threats that exist today," he said.
He expressed his confidence that Kyrgyz counterparts, just like the Russian Defense Ministry, have taken note of "the emergence in Afghanistan, in addition to the terrorist organizations already there, of new forces of Islamic State of Iraq and Levant - ISIL in our terminology - in significant, visible numbers."
"Their tasks are clear and obvious: to take control over all sorts of activities, which generate mainly criminal proceeds for the continuation of their activity," Shoigu said.
With joint efforts "we will able to create a system protecting Kyrgyzstan against these threats," Shoigu said.
Kaparov concurred with him. "The threats you talked about are taking place indeed," the Kyrgyz general said.
Cooperation with the Russian Defense Ministry has "always been a priority" for Kyrgyzstan, he said. "Our head of state pays much attention to it. This is why I am hoping for a gradualist development of our cooperation," Kaparov said.
