Kyrgyzstan’s parliament ratified an agreement with Russia on Wednesday to create a joint air defense system ahead of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to the Central Asian country, an ally of Moscow, reports AFP.

Vladimir Putin with Sadir Japarov, to his right, at the celebration of “Victory Day” in World War IIPhoto: Ramil Sitdikov / Sputnik / Profimedia Images

“Deputies analyzed and adopted the draft law on the ratification of the agreement between the Kyrgyz Republic and the Russian Federation on the creation of a joint regional air defense system,” the Kyrgyz Parliament said in a statement.

According to the same source, five hectares of land at the Russian military base in Kant, in Kyrgyzstan, will be allocated for this purpose.

Vladimir Putin’s visit to the base, east of the capital Bishkek, scheduled for Thursday has been cancelled, Kyrgyzstan’s president announced on Wednesday, without specifying the reason.

However, the Russian leader is due to meet with his counterpart Sadir Japarov before taking part in a summit of heads of state of the former Soviet republics on Friday.

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The Kyrgyz side did not specify the term of this agreement, but the Russian news agency RIA Novosti calls it a five-year term.

Russia has concluded similar agreements with other allied countries, in particular with Kazakhstan, Belarus and Tajikistan.

The announcement comes as the effectiveness of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), the Moscow-led military structure that unites several former Soviet republics, has been called into question in recent months.

An ally of Russia, Armenia refused to take part in this week’s joint military exercises in Kyrgyzstan, accusing Moscow of doing nothing to prevent Azerbaijan’s offensive in Nagorno-Karabakh in mid-September.

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