“They answered that it was just business and a
question of developing military cooperation. We will continue to hold talks
with Turkey once we have received all the information,” Kulubayev was cited as
saying by 24. kg news agency.
Minister Kulubayev also states that they will talk with the Turkish side once they have all the relevant information.
The Military Framework Agreement between
Turkey and Tajikistan was signed last week by Hulusi Akar, Turkey’s Minister of
National Defence, and General Sherali Mirzo, Tajikistan’s Minister of Defence.
Minister Akar emphasised the common belief and
historical and cultural ties between Turkey and Tajikistan during bilateral and
regional defence, security, and defence industry cooperation meetings. They
stated that they were willing to share their experiences in border security and
fighting terrorism.
In addition, it was reported that Akar
stressed the importance of expanding the two countries’ military education
cooperation. Turkmenistan was the first Central Asian country to supply the
Bayraktar TB2 Armed UAV. Kyrgyzstan’s UAVs were added to the country’s
inventory in December. They are currently in use by the Kyrgyz Border Security
Forces.
Conflicts between the two countries occur at
regular intervals in the border regions due to border disputes between the two
countries. The most recent match between the Kyrgyz and Tajik teams was April
12. Both sides used heavy weapons. Following the clashes, 18,507 people in the
area were evacuated.
Mirzo met with the head of Baykar, the
Istanbul-based defence manufacturer that manufactures the Bayraktar drones,
while in Ankara.
While Tajikistan is rumoured to be acquiring the
drones, no information on how many are expected to be delivered is available.
