US Did Not Ask Kazakhstan To Receive Troops After Withdrawal From Afghanistan - Military

The United States did not send to Kazakhstan a request to have US troops deployed on its territory after their withdrawal from Afghanistan, the Kazakh Defense Ministry told Sputnik on Friday

NUR-SULTAN (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 18th June, 2021) The United States did not send to Kazakhstan a request to have US troops deployed on its territory after their withdrawal from Afghanistan, the Kazakh Defense Ministry told Sputnik on Friday.

Earlier in June, US Special Representative for Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad said that Washington would like to have some potential in Central Asia to protect its national security amid the plans to leave Afghanistan.

"The United States did not address us through the defense agency's channels with a request to hold negotiations on the possible deployment of troops on the territory of Kazakhstan after their withdrawal from Afghanistan," the Kazakh Defense Ministry said.

According to the ministry, in line with the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO)'s protocol on military infrastructure deployment on the member states' territory, the parties station non-CSTO forces and infrastructure only following urgent CSTO consultations in the absence of official objections.