Russian Defense Minister in Dushanbe to Discuss Afghanistan
DUSHANBE, Oct 21 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov and the head of Russia's security service, Nikolai Patrushev, were due in the Tajik capital Dushanbe Sunday for talks with top officials on the situation in Afghanistan, a government official said.
Ivanov and Patrushev, who are returning to Moscow after attending the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum in Shanghai, were set to meet Tajik President Emomali Rakhmanov, Defense Minister Sherali Khairullayev and other officials to discuss regional security in the light of the U.S.-led attacks in Afghanistan, the official said on condition of anonymity, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported.
Tajik officials would neither confirm nor deny speculation that Russian President Vladimir Putin would also stop over in Dushanbe later Sunday on his way back from Shanghai.
In Moscow, Kremlin officials said they had no information on a possible Putin visit to Dushanbe.
The former Soviet republic of Tajikistan borders Afghanistan, where U.S.-led forces are engaged in a campaign to capture or kill Saudi-born dissident Osama bin Laden. Washington claims bin Laden is the mastermind of the September 11 attacks on New York and Washington.
Eleven thousand Russian border guards are deployed along the Tajik border with Afghanistan under the terms of a 1992 agreement between Moscow and Dushanbe.
Tajikistan has expressed broad support for the U.S. objectives but said it will limit its role to providing facilities for humanitarian operations.
