Russian base in Tajikistan ready to counter threats

Russian servicemen held anti-terrorist exercises at a military base in Tajikistan's capital on Sunday to prepare for possible security threats coming from Afghanistan.

The 201st military base in Dushanbe is one of the largest military outposts in the former Soviet Union. More than 1,500 soldiers serving at the base took part in weeklong war games that brought together about 5,000 troops and over 700 armored vehicles from Russia, Tajikistan, and several other ex-Soviet nations.

The nations are members of the Collective Security Treaty Organization, a Moscow-dominated security pact. This year, the base has been equipped with state-of-art arms including new infantry fighting vehicles, portable rocket launchers, anti-tank missile systems.

Moscow has vowed to provide military assistance to its ex-Soviet allies in Central Asia to help counter possible threats and held a series of joint drills in Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, which neighbor Afghanistan.