"Immediately after the September 11, 2001 [terrorist attacks in the United States], President Vladimir Putin contacted several heads of state in Central Asia and recommended that they provide their bases to the United States for the period of the anti- terrorist operation in Afghanistan," Ivanov told journalists in Washington on Wednesday.
The defense minister, however, said that he does not approve of the idea of U.S. servicemen staying in CIS nations on a permanent basis. "I do not see any need for any U.S. military presence in CIS countries. Six CIS nations are signatories to the Collective Security Treaty. They are capable of protecting themselves without external assistance," he said.
"Of all CIS countries, only Uzbekistan does not host Russian military bases. There are Russian military bases or facilities in all the rest of them," Ivanov said.
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