Russian Defence Minister Sergei Ivanov stated on Friday that he did not see any basis for even the hypothetical possibility of NATO military operations on the territory of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) in Central Asia.

At the same time The New York Post says the talks between the Bush administration and Russia about using former Soviet military bases in central Asia as staging areas for massive military assaults on Osama bin Laden is under way. The Post reports, quoting Secretary of State Colin Powell, that President Bush spoke twice by phone to Putin on Wednesday about joint measures the two countries undertake against Islamic terrorists. Russia has still a large military presence in Tajikistan, one of former Soviet republics bordering Afghanistan. Once it was the centre of Soviet military operations in Afghanistan. Four hijacked passenger planes were crashed by knife-wielding terrorists on U.S. targets on Tuesday. The unprecedented terrorist acts are thought to have killed thousands of people. Secretary of State Colin Powell on Thursday confirmed Osama bin Laden, the Saudi-born dissident believed to be based in Afghanistan, was the main suspect in the deadly aerial attacks.