Cooperation in defense and law enforcement is new in Russia-China relations – security expert Mussayev

This was stated by security expert Alnur Mussayev on Espreso TV.

"What is absolutely new in relations with China and the Central Asian states is that, in addition to political and economic cooperation, cooperation in the field of defense and law enforcement has been openly proclaimed. This is a very important step, a tough step for Russia. Russia should think deeply, because all defense and law enforcement activities have always been carried out only under the auspices of the Russian Federation in our countries. And no one made any special claims," he said.

The expert reminded that in recent years, Turkey has united law enforcement agencies within the Turkic region and has taken steps towards Azerbaijan when they practically entered the war in Nagorno-Karabakh.

"But such a step as China has taken now has never happened in the history of Central Asian countries' relations with other states and other leaders. We will see, of course, how this will be realized. But if China has just announced serious financial sums to be allocated to the Central Asian states, I think that China will move forward in this direction," Alnur Mussayev emphasized.

• On May 19, Chinese President Xi Jinping presented a broad plan to help bring Central Asia to a new level of development while avoiding "external interference."