July 29, 2002	Monday	Jamadi-ul-Awwal 18,1423

MOSCOW, July 28: The United States has assured Russia that it has no intention of maintaining a long-term military presence in Central Asia but that it wishes to maintain close ties to the region, officials said here Saturday.

The pledge from US officials was made during security talks held on Friday in Annapolis, Maryland, and attended by US Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage and Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Vyacheslav Trubnikov.

“The two parties examined cooperation between Russia and the United States in Central Asia in the framework of Operation Enduring Freedom,” a Russian foreign ministry statement said.

“The US underlined that it has no intention of maintaining permanent bases in Central Asia but that it plans to have long-term security relations with the countries in the region,” the statement said.

In the wake of the September 11 attacks the US was quick to establish bases in Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan as an aid to its operations against the Taliban and Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan.

But critics have accused Washington of seeking to capitalise on the attacks and establish a permanent foothold in the strategic oil and gas-rich region, long a part of Moscow’s sphere of influence.

Th US is to also send military “training” teams to Georgia in the Caucasus region.—AFP