DUSHANBE: Russia and Tajikistan on Tuesday began joint military exercises near the Tajik-Afghan border to prepare to ward off potential Taliban attacks. More than 10,000 troops, mostly Tajik reservists, will take part in the first such drills in the area by the ex-Soviet allies, Tajikistan’s defence ministry said. Combined forces will practice “eliminating terrorists who broke through” from Afghanistan in an imagined incursion, it said. Some 400 soldiers and 80 pieces of Russian military equipment were deployed from a military base in Tajikistan for exercises due to last until Friday, the Russian army said. </s> Dushanbe (Tajikistan) (AFP) - Russia and Tajikistan on Tuesday began joint military exercises near the Tajik-Afghan border to prepare to ward off potential Taliban attacks.

More than 10,000 troops, mostly Tajik reservists, will take part in the first such drills in the area by the ex-Soviet allies, Tajikistan's defence ministry said.

Combined forces will practice "eliminating terrorists who broke through" from Afghanistan in an imagined incursion, it said.

Some 400 soldiers and 80 pieces of Russian military equipment were deployed from a military base in Tajikistan for exercises due to last until Friday, the Russian army said.

The drills will take place just over the border from the Afghan province of Badakhshan.

Russia and Tajikistan have intensified military cooperation since US-led forces began withdrawing from Afghanistan in large numbers in 2014.

This is the first time they have held exercises in the sometimes restive Tajik province of Gorno-Badakhshan, where clashes between government and rebel forces took place in 2012.

Previous exercises were held in the country's southern Khatlon province.

China has beefed up its security assistance in the country in recent times, notably building infrastructure on the 1,300-kilometre (800-mile) border between Tajikistan and Afghanistan and holding its own drills with Tajikistan in 2016.

The border is a haven for drug traffickers and was guarded by Russian troops before they stepped back in 2005. Afghanistan is the world's biggest opium producer. </s> Uzbekistan, Tajikistan to hold joint military drills for first time

Uzbekistan and Tajikistan will hold joint military drills before the end of this year, Uzbek media reported on April 18.

According to the source in the Defense Ministry of Tajikistan, such drills will be held for the first time.

Currently, representatives of the defense departments of the two states are considering the appropriate date for the drills, the number of soldiers and officers, military equipment to be involved. </s> Baku, Azerbaijan, April 18

By Fikret Dolukhanov – Trend:

Uzbekistan and Tajikistan will hold joint military drills before the end of this year, Uzbek media reported on April 18.

According to the source in the Defense Ministry of Tajikistan, such drills will be held for the first time.

Currently, representatives of the defense departments of the two states are considering the appropriate date for the drills, the number of soldiers and officers, military equipment to be involved.

Working out of the combat missions can be conducted on the territory of several training grounds located in the territory of Uzbekistan and Tajikistan.

During the training, the states plan to work out the cooperation in the fight against international terrorism.

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Follow the author on Twitter: @FDolukhanov

Follow Trend on Telegram. Only most interesting and important news </s> Only a two-kilometer stretch of Tajikistan’s common border with Uzbekistan near the Farhod water reservoir still remains uncoordinated, a source in the Tajik government told Asia-Plus on April 19.

“The stretch is located at the junction of the borders of Tajikistan’s Sughd province and Uzbekistan’s Syrdarya region. There no any facilities or settlements in that area,” the source said.

According to him, the issue of that stretch would be officially solved during a state visit of Tajik President Emomali Rahmon to Uzbekistan, which is scheduled for early Autumn 2018.

Earlier, the Tajik-Uzbek border delimitation talks had been stalled since February 2009 after Tajikistan rejected Uzbekistan’s proposal to give up some disputed lands to the Tajik side on condition that Tashkent will gain full control of Farhod water reservoir along the two countries border.

The first border talks between Tajikistan and Uzbekistan after the three-year break took place in Dushanbe on Feb. 21-22, 2012. On April 24, 2015, officials of Tajikistan and Uzbekistan met in the northern Tajik city of Khujand to discuss issues around protecting common borders in 2014. In November 2016, a working group began considering solutions to definitively outline the 16 percent of the 1,332-kilometer border still under discussion.

During the visit of Uzbek Prime Minister Abdulla Aripov to Dushanbe that took place on Jan. 10, 2018, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan agreed to implement visa-free regime and other border-related measures. The regulations also provide for the building of new checkpoints along the border and the opening of several bus links to connect the two nations' towns and cities. </s> An upcoming Russian military exercise in Europe is making analysts nervous.

CNN is reporting that the major exercise, called Zapad 2017, will take place in Kaliningrad, which borders Poland, and Belarus which borders both Poland and Ukraine.

“Military analysts see such war games as a possible rehearsal for a Russia-NATO armed conflict as it is taking place very close to an area that analysts consider to be the most likely target of a Russian offensive,” the article states.

There is also concern by NATO that Russia is not being as transparent about the exercise as it should, such as “not allowing observers to monitor the exercise to ensure that it is not a cover for an aggressive military operation,” as required by international treaties, according to CNN.

There is also worry about the true number of participating troops, with the Russians claiming 13,000 and observers saying it could actually be as large as 100,000 Russian and Belorussian forces, according to CNN.

The U.S. is currently participating in a multinational training exercise in Ukraine called Exercise Rapid Trident 17. The Russian exercise will begin just days after it ends on Sept. 23.

The Ukrainian-led annual exercise has 1,800 participating service members from 14 countries, and is “focused on peacekeeping and stability operations,” according to the US Army Europe website on the exercise. </s> MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The Zapad 2017 joint strategic military exercise started on the territory of Russia and Belarus, the Russian Defense Ministry said Thursday.

"The Zapad 2017 joint strategic exercise of the armed forces of the Union State of Russia and Belarus began on September 14," the ministry said.

Up to 12,700 servicemen (about 7,200 from Belarus, some 5,500 from Russia), up to 70 aircraft and helicopters, up to 680 items of military equipment, including about 250 tanks, up to 200 guns, multiple rocket launchers and mortars, and up to 10 warships take part in the drills.

Several NATO member states and Ukraine have raised concerns about the drills, while the German defense minister, Ursula von der Leyen, claimed last week that over 100,000 troops would participate, an allegation refuted by Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov.

According to Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg NATO will send three experts exercises, following invitations from Russia and Belarus. Previously, Stoltenberg said that the alliance does not see any imminent threat posed against any NATO member by the drills. However, a number of NATO member states located in eastern Europe, including Poland and Lithuania, as well as Ukraine, have already expressed their concerns over the upcoming Russia-Belarus exercises.

In their turn, senior Russian and Belarusian officials reiterated that the drills do not pose any threat to other states and are exclusively defensive in nature. Moreover, Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko stated earlier that these exercises would be open for foreign observers. The Defense Ministry of Belarus reported in August that observers from seven countries — Ukraine, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Sweden, Norway — were invited to the event. </s> Approximately 1,650 service members from 15 different countries are participating in Exercise Rapid Trident 2017 which began Monday and will last until September 23, Pentagon spokesman Johnny Michael told CNN.

The US involvement will include approximately 250 soldiers from the Oklahoma Army National Guard, 80 soldiers from the California Army National Guard, 45 airmen from the California Air National Guard, and some additional Army and Air Force personnel in support and control roles.

The annual exercise focuses on peacekeeping and stability operations and helps promote interoperability among the partner militaries of Ukraine and the United States as well as its NATO allies, according to US Army Europe. It also serves to validate aspects of the Ukraine's military training program.

The exercise in Ukraine comes as Russia is gearing up for its major military exercise, Zapad 2017, which is expected to involve tens of thousands of troops operating along NATO's borders in Western Russia, the Russian European enclave of Kaliningrad and Belarus.

Military analysts see such war games as a possible rehearsal for a Russia-NATO armed conflict as it is taking place very close to an area that analysts consider to be the most likely target of a Russian offensive. ZAPAD 2017 has also sparked concerns among NATO's easternmost members that Russian forces may stay in the area following the conclusion of the exercise. Russian officials have said that only 13,000 troops will participate but western observers have said that as many as 100,000 Russian and Belorussian forces could be involved. NATO has been critical about how transparent Moscow has been about Zapad 2017, saying it has failed to adhere to international treaties by not allowing observers to monitor the exercise to ensure that it is not a cover for an aggressive military operation. US bombers arrive in Europe as Russia preps for war games NATO's easternmost members have been wary of an increasingly aggressive Russia, particularly following Russia's 2014 military invasion and annexation of Crimea and Moscow's support of separatist rebels in eastern Ukraine. "We urge Russia to share information regarding its exercises and operations in NATO's vicinity to clearly convey its intentions and minimize any misunderstandings," Pentagon spokesman US Army Lt. Col. Michelle Baldanza told CNN. "In response to this uncertainty, the US has built a joint, persistent rotational presence of air, land, and sea presence in the region to support our Allies," she added. </s> The first day of major joint war games between Russia and Belarus began in confusion Thursday, as the militaries of both countries announced the Russians would be moving in opposite directions.

The defence ministry in Moscow first announced that units of the Russian first tank army were rushing toward Belarus - a statement swiftly denied by the Belarusian military, who insisted the Russian tanks were heading to training bases in their own country.

The confusion only exacerbated fears that the Zapad war games taking place largely in Belarus are a cover for a Russian assault, like those that preceded the annexation of Crimea and intervention in eastern Ukraine in 2014.

Many have joked that the Russian forces—officially numbering 3,000—might not withdraw at the end of the exercises, and analysts have speculated that they could leave behind military equipment to cut down deployment time in case of conflict.

“Without question, all participants of the exercises will return to their permanent bases after the exercises, including the Russian units to the territory of the Russian Federation,” Vladimir Makarov, spokesman of the Belarusian defence ministry, told journalists. He added that the war games “don't hold any danger for Belarus, for neighbouring countries, for Ukraine”.

Yet while the exercises are designed to demonstrate Russia's ability to fight Nato, they have also eroded Minsk's claims to neutrality and alarmed its neighbours. On Thursday, Poland's defence minister called Zapad 2017 a “serious threat” to regional security, and Ukraine has been holding its own “Unflinching Firmness” military manoeuvres this week.

Even before it started, Zapad had been rattling Nato and its allies. Sweden is holding its largest military exercises in two decades, responding to a simulated attack from the direction of Russia, and US army tanks and fighting vehicles arrived in northern Poland on Monday as part of the ongoing Operation Atlantic Resolve exercises.

Alexander Lukashenko, the Belarusian president who has long played Russia and the West off each other for aid money, cheap oil and political benefit, has only reluctantly proceeded with this year's biannual joint exercises.

Displaying unusual openness, the Belarusian authorities said they have invited more than 80 observers from international organisations and nearby countries.

The 12,700 troops officially said to be participating—Western pundits have estimated up to 100,000 could actually be involved—fall under the threshold for broad international monitoring. “Belarus has been trying to distance itself from Russia and establish neutrality in tensions between Russia and the West, and these exercises ruin this,” said analyst Valery Karbalevich. A Russian T-90 tank firing in Kubinka Patriot Park outside Moscow during the first day of the "Army 2017" International Military-Technical Forum. “But Belarus can't refuse because it would be very disloyal to Russia.” If it wasn't already clear that the Zapad exercises were a thinly veiled preparation for a conflict with Nato, their supposed “aggressor countries”—called Lubeniya, Veishnoriya and Vesbasriya—were located roughly where Lithuania, Latvia and Poland are on a map shown at the Russian defence ministry briefing. Moscow is demonstrating to Washington and Nato it can quickly establish control of Belarus and cut a corridor to the Russian exclave Kaliningrad, headquarters of the Baltic fleet, according to analyst Alexander Golts. “For first time in many years Russia is openly working out military actions against Nato members,” he said. The war games also showcase Russian military equipment, which was on display to buyers at the Army expo in Moscow earlier this month. Some 140 tanks, up to 150 artillery and air defence units and more than 40 planes and helicopters will participate. But some here worry Belarus is becoming Russia's Western front. For years Moscow has been seeking an airbase in Belarus, and Russia recently proposed creating a joint air defence system with Belarus. Earlier this month, the Belarusian opposition staged a protest against the Zapad exercises as a threat to independence. “The main danger is that we are drawn into a conflict. On our territory the Russian army will train to attack the West,” said Mykola Statkevich, the recently freed opposition leader. “No one wants conflict, but when escalation is happening, no one wants to step down, the likelihood of negative scenarios increases.”
Russia and Tajikistan begin joint military exercises near the Afghan–Tajik border to deter potential Taliban attacks.