BISHKEK, April 20 (RIA Novosti) - One Russian officer was wounded in a clash with Kyrgyz road traffic police near the Russian airbase at Kant in Kyrgyzstan, the republic's interior ministry said on Sunday.

According to the ministry, a vehicle with three Russian officers refused to obey the orders of Kyrgyz road police early on Sunday in the Kyrgyz capital and drove away. The police started to chase the offenders and caught them near the Kant airbase.

The officers ignored the demand by the police to get out of the car. In a conflict that followed, one Russian officer was wounded, the ministry said.

The Kyrgyz road police said the Russian officers were drunk.

An investigation into the incident has been launched, the ministry said.

Russia established in October 2003 its own airbase in Kant, about 20 miles west of the Kyrgyz capital. The Russian base currently deploys about 400 troops, as well as 20 combat and transport planes, helicopters, and L-39 trainers.

Russian troops are stationed at Kant under an agreement in the framework of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) - a regional security bloc in Central Asia, which also includes Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.