DUSHANBE, February 1, Asia-Plus -- Commander of 5 ^th Army of Russia’s Air and Air-Defense Force, Lieutenant-General Vadim Volkovitsky arrived in Dushanbe yesterday for a one-day working visit.  

Yesterday, Russian flag officer met with top managers of Tajikistan’s State Air Company TajikAir to discuss the terms of further deployment of an air support of Russian military base in Tajikistan at the Dushanbe airport. 

A source at a Tajik national air carrier said that the sides, in particular, discussed issues of payment for deployment of Russian military planes in Tajikistan.  The source refrained from giving further details of the meeting.   

According to the Ministry of Defense (MoD), Volkovitsky was also scheduled to hold talks with senior representatives from a MoD but for some reasons the meeting was not held.  

At present six SU-25s and several helicopters Mi-24 and Mi-8 of Russia Air Force are deployed at the military airfield Ayni and military personnel of the air support are deployed at the airport in Dushanbe.    

According to the MoD, Lieutenant-General Volkovitsky supervises providing security in the Central Asian region.  

Radio Liberty quoted Russia’s Interfax as saying that deputy commander of Russia’s Air and Air-Defense Force, Lieutenant-General Aytech Bizhev announced on December 21, 2006, that Tajikistan’s Air and Air-Defense Force will be equipped with modern Russian air-defense and communications systems.  The Russia equipment, including the up-to-date air-navigation technology and automated command and control systems, is to be delivered to Tajikistan by February 2007.  The equipment will facilitate integration of the Tajik air-defense network within the broader system of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (SCTO).  Russia military technicians are also due to arrive in Tajikistan to assist in the installing the systems and to conduct training for Tajik Air and Air-Defense force personnel.