MOSCOW, May 25 (AFP) - Turkmenistan will ask Russia to remove troops guarding the Central Asian republic's border with Afghanistan and Iran in November when a treaty providing for the military presence expires, Interfax reported Tuesday. "The Turkmen border service has been fully formed and is capable of guarding the border without Russia's help," Vladimir Konovalov, commander of the Russian border troops in Turkmenistan, was quoted by the news agency as saying. Under a 1993 treaty about 300 Russian officers are currently guarding the Turkmen border, the news agency said. The intention to pull out of the treaty is the latest move by Turkmenistan to distance itself from Russia and other former Soviet republics. In March, Turkmenistan pulled out of a visa-free zone between the former Soviet republics. Among the Central Asian republics, Uzbekistan also has moved to distance itself from Russia by pulling out of a Russia-led regional security alliance in February, saying the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) treaty no longer worked. In April, Uzbek President Islam Karimov opposed Russia's plans to set up a military base in neighboring Tajikistan along the Afghan border. Moscow has made repeated efforts to stretch its sphere of influence into the former republics, known in Russia as the "near abroad," through the CIS alliance.  