Tajikistan may ratify Russian military base agreement in October - deputy
DUSHANBE. Aug 5 (Interfax) - The Tajik parliament may ratify the agreement on the stationing of Russia's 201st military base in Tajikistan in October 2013, after its parliament's vacation is over, lower chamber deputy Ismoil Talbakov told reporters.
In his opinion, the agreement will be ratified by an overwhelming majority of votes.
"The parliament will resume its work in October and the ratification of the agreement on the presence of the Russian military base in Tajikistan will be one of the first items on our agenda. There is no doubt the agreement will be ratified by a majority of votes," said Talbakov, first deputy chairman of the pro-governmental Communist Party of Tajikistan.
No more than three deputies may oppose the ratification of this accord, Talbakov said. He declined to say which members of what political party might raise their objections.
The People's Democratic Party of President Emomali Rahmon occupies 55 out of 63 seats in the lower chamber (87.3%). The other four parties, among them the opposition Islamic Renaissance Party, have two seats each. Islamic Renaissance Party leader Muhiddin Kabiri assured the media last month that his party did not mind the presence of the 201st military base of Russia on Tajik territory.
"Emomali Rahmon and Vladimir Putin have put a lid on the disputes concerning the base and any plans by adversaries of either country who might try to act by the "divide and rule" principle," deputy Talbakov said. He did not name the "adversaries" in Russia and Tajikistan.
Rahmon held negotiations with his Russian counterpart, Putin, in Moscow on August 1. Tajikistan assured Russia that ratification of the 201st base accord signed back in October 2012 was not being postponed in spite of the opinion expressed by many media outlets and experts in both countries.
The 201st base is the largest facility of the Russian Army outside of national territory. The agreement says it can stay in Tajikistan until 2042.