Tajikistan refuses to ratify the agreement on presence of the 201st Russian base on its territory until Russia grants Tajik migrants a beneficial regime and lifts fees for petroleum shipments, Tajik Foreign Minister Khamrokhon Zarifi said, Kommersant reports.
Prolongation of presence of the base was signed during the visit of Russian President Vladimir Putin to Dushanbe in October. In exchange, Russia offered benefits for Tajik migrants, lift of export fees of Russian petroleum to Tajikistan (1 million tons annually), granted $200 million for modernization of Tajik army and may invest in small and medium dams of Tajikistan.
Concerning the lift of export fees for petroleum, Russia does not want Tajikistan to do re-export to other states. Tajikistan does not guarantee that it would not re-export the fuel.
