Dushanbe, Tajikistan , Oct 16, SPA -- Russian President VladimirPutin arrived Saturday in Tajikistan for a visit aimed atcementing Moscow's military presence in the former Sovietrepublic by signing an agreement to establish a permanentbase for troops that have been deployed in the countrysince before the Soviet collapse. Putin is to meet Tajik President Emomali Rakhmonov tocomplete long-delayed plans for the base for Russia's5,000-strong 201st Motorized Rifle Division. The 201stfought in Afghanistan after the 1979 Soviet invasion andretreated to Tajikistan in 1989.--SP1556 Local Time 1256 GMT www.spa.gov.sa/211388