“We will buy drones to ensure the security of the country,” said Sadir Caparov.
The president of Kyrgyzstan said on Saturday that his country would buy unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) from Turkey and Russia.
“We are not buying drones to make war on someone. We will buy drones to ensure the security of the country,” Sadyr Japarov said at his first annual press conference in the capital Bishkek, after taking his functions at the start of 2021.
Japarov confirmed the statement by General Kamchibek Tasiyev, chairman of the State Committee for National Security of Kyrgyzstan, that they ordered Turkish drones Bayraktar TB2.
Referring to an armed conflict along the border with Tajikistan last April, in which 36 people on the Kyrgyz side died, he said: “We didn’t even have a single plane to fly during the conflict. Now we are going to buy the two planes and The drones, we are going to cover these purchases from the budget.
He said they had developed their relations with neighboring countries, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, after years of “cold” relations. He added that the country has also strengthened its relations with Russia and Turkey.
Regarding the fight against corruption, the president said that the state had raised some 87.45 million dollars.
On comments that Sooronbay Jeenbekov, his predecessor who resigned in October 2020 following protests, Caparov said there were no plans to rescind his presidential status, and added: “The tradition of sacking presidents should be over. “
On the idea of creating a new city in the Issyk-Kul region of Kyrgyzstan, he said: “We are going to start the creation of the city of Asman. At the moment, town planning works are underway. “
