Russia's Lavrov Urges Central Asia to Critically Assess Military Cooperation With West
14:07 06.06.2023 (Updated: 10:49 03.08.2023)
© Sputnik . Russian Foreign Ministry Press Service / Go to the mediabankRussian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov attends a wreath-laying ceremony at the monument to Tajik national hero Ismoil Somoni in Dushanbe as part of an official visit to Tajikistan on June 6, 2023.
© Sputnik . Russian Foreign Ministry Press Service
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DUSHANBE (Sputnik) – Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Tuesday urged Central Asian countries to critically assess Western military cooperation programs, as they are being used to establish control over region.
"Today there are deliberate efforts by the West to assertive invasion, including humanitarian and military one, into Central Asia [...] The development assistance programs promoted by Western geopolitical engineers are in fact instruments of controlling and reformatting the political-economic landscape of the region as they see fit," Lavrov said at the Russian-Tajik (Slavonic) University in Dushanbe.
The Russian diplomat added, "We urge our friends to critically consider military cooperation and law enforcement training programs imposed by the West."
Lavrov arrived in Tajikistan on a visit on Monday. Earlier in the day, he met with his Tajik counterpart, Sirojiddin Muhriddin. The sides discussed issues of bilateral relations, prospects for further development of political, trade, economic and humanitarian ties.