Azerbaijan, Baku, Dec. 5 / Trend /
The U.S. does not plan to open military bases in Central Asia, Asia-Plus reported on Monday.
Robert Blake, the U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs, stated this in Tajikistan on Saturday after a meeting with Tajik President Emomali Rahmon.
Blake arrived in Dushanbe from Bishkek where he attended Kyrgyzstan's presidential inauguration ceremony.
"We have always said that we do not plan any long-term presence or bases in the Central Asian region," Blake said.
Regarding the military presence of the U.S in Afghanistan after 2014, Mr. Blake said that Washington was currently conducting negotiations with the Afghan Government on the further military presence in that country after the military and security operations complete in 2014.
He said that the bilateral cooperation between the U.S and Tajikistan, as well as the current situation in Afghanistan and the international conference on Afghanistan in Bonn were among major topics of his meeting with President Emomali Rahmon.
Blake said that the conference on Afghanistan in Bonn would give international community an opportunity to assist Afghanistan with peace process and reconstruction of its economy.
Edited by V. Zhavoronkova