US and allies trying to restore military presence in Central Asia: Russian Defence Minister

In order to counter U.S. efforts to grow its presence, Moscow is boosting the combat readiness of its military bases in Central Asia, Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said on Friday.

Moscow has military bases in Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, but the RIA news agency cited Shoigu - who was speaking at a meeting of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation defence ministers in India - as saying the United States and its allies were trying to put military infrastructure in place across the region.

“The United States and its allies, under the pretext of helping in the fight against terrorism, are trying to restore their military presence in Central Asia,” RIA cited Shoigu as saying.

In wide-ranging comments made at the meeting, RIA also cited Shoigu as saying that Washington was seeking to strategically defeat Russia in Ukraine and threaten China.

With inputs from agencies. Read all the  Latest News ,  Trending News ,  Cricket News ,  Bollywood News , India News  and  Entertainment News  here. Follow us on  Facebook ,  Twitter  and  Instagram .