"The stay of the Russian military advisors is over," a source in the Tajik defence ministry said.

Military sources said the decision could either be linked to difficulties in paying for the 20-odd Russian advisors or a wish to build more independent Tajik armed forces by diversifying military cooperation with other countries.

The Russian advisors, high-ranking officers, helped to form the 10,000-strong Tajik armed forces, providing expertise for the defence ministry, general staff and commanders of army units.

On a visit to Tajikistan last Saturday, Russian President Vladimir Putin pledged to strengthen ties with Dushanbe but warned that the flow of Afghan drugs into Russia via the Central Asian republic was a serious problem.

Russia's military presence in Tajikistan is "an important factor for security" along the southern border of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), the loose grouping of 12 former Soviet republics, Putin said after talks with his Tajik counterpart Emomali Rakhmonov.

Tajikistan's southern border with Afghanistan is guarded by some 11,000 Russian troops, and Russia has around 8,000 other troops based in the republic, the poorest in the former Soviet Union.

The United States, through its "war on terrorism," has been able to set up military bases in several of the central Asian states, in particular Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan, which have long been seen as part of Russia's zone of influence.

SPACE.WIRE