Russia is ready to supply about $1.2 billion worth of weapons and
military equipment to the Central Asian nation of Tajikistan, which is
currently threatened by invasion from the Islamic State, a leading Russian
business daily reported.
The Kommersant Daily newspaper quoted unnamed sources in the
Russian General Staff as saying the amount of planned military aid to
Tajikistan could reach 70 billion rubles (over $1.2 billion at current rate)
within the next few years.
The arms and equipment would include personal weapons and
ammunition, communication systems, aircraft, artillery systems and missiles.
Most of the aid will be second hand hardware currently on the Russian forces’
balance, the sources said.
The aid will be rendered within a major program of joint
modernization of Tajikistan’s military signed between Moscow and Dushanbe in
2014. The major objective is to strengthen the border between Tajikistan and
Afghanistan. The task has become especially vital after the Coalition Forces’
withdrawal from Afghanistan and the growing threat from the so-called Islamic
State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL).
Source: RT
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