Russia opens airbase in Kyrgyzstan, first foreign military base since Soviet Union's collapse

While warplanes looped in the clear skies above, Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday opened Russia's first new military base on foreign soil since the 1991 Soviet collapse. Putin hailed the new base in Kyrgyzstan as a move aimed at strengthening security in volatile Central Asia, but it is widely seen as Moscow's response to the U.S. military presence in an area that Russia regards as its strategic backyard. The new outpost is only 30 miles from a base used by U.S. troops. ``By creating an air shield here in Kyrgyzstan, we intend to strengthen security in the region, whose stability has became a tangible factor affecting the development of the international situation,'' Putin said at the opening ceremony. ``We believe it will create a good basis for cooperation and will be a factor for deterring terrorists,'' Putin said. Secular governments in Central Asia have been struggling in recent years with radical Islamic groups inspired by the proximity of Afghanistan, which was ruled by the hardline Taliban until it was ousted by U.S.-led forces. Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan have faced several incursions and bomb attacks by militants. Since December 2001, Kyrgyzstan has hosted hundreds of troops from the U.S.-led anti-terror coalition as they support operations in nearby Afghanistan. Neighboring Uzbekistan is a base for more than 1,000 U.S. troops. Russia did not object to the arrival of U.S. troops, but maintained that Western troops should leave as soon as there's stability in Afghanistan. The Kant air base, 12 miles east of the capital, Bishkek, was established under the Collective Security Treaty signed by Russia, Belarus, Armenia, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Kazakhstan a detail that Putin and his host Kyrgyz President Askar Akayev underscored.