At a meeting with Defense Ministers of Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) member nations, Shoigú stated that the new US military bases will be a threat to regional stability.

Plus, he warned that the hasty withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan led to a further increased political and military tensions and rising hostilities in the area, the TASS news agency reported.

According to the Russian minister, the United States are much more concerned ‘about the chance of seting up new transit routes and logistics facilities in Central Asia as well as deploying its military bases,’ he said.

Shoigú assured that Moscow is aware of these plans that, in his opinion, will not lead to anything good, but will only contribute to increasing the presence of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in the region.

In this regard, Shoigú stressed the significance of SCO member states keeping constant consultations on the Afghan conflict to prevent destabilizing processes from spreading to their territories.

pgh/Pll/mem / mml