Kyrgyzstan gov’t moves to close key US airbase
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AFP
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Şubat 05, 2009 00:00
BISHKEK - Kyrgyz gov’t moves to shut a US base on its soil that is key to the Afghan conflict. The threat of closure fuels widespread belief that the decision has been taken under Russian pressure, but Moscow denies any involvement
Kyrgyzstan's government submitted a decree to parliament yesterday that would close a U.S. airbase on its territory used as a vital supply route for Western operations in Afghanistan. The decision by the Central Asian state came as a snub to the administration of Barack Obama, who has singled out Afghanistan as the main front in U.S. military operations overseas and plans to deploy 30,000 more troops there over the next 18 months.
Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev announced the closure a day earlier in Moscow, fueling widespread opinion that the decision came under pressure from Russia, which has been irritated by the U.S. presence in ex-Soviet territory. The government rapidly approved a bill ordering the base's closure yesterday and is to submit the text to parliament for a debate today, government spokesman Marat Kydyraliyev said. The bill "is about the cancellation of the agreement with the United States on the presence in Kyrgyzstan of the American air base," he said.
No notification yet
In the Kyrgyz capital Bishkek, the U.S. Embassy said it had not received any notice that Kyrgyzstan was ordering the closure of the base, which is located outside Bishkek at Manas and is home to over 1,000 foreign troops, most of them American.
U.S. Embassy officials were yesterday trying to hold talks with the Kyrgyz presidential administration but so far such requests were not being met, officials said. "Discussions will continue," the embassy said in a statement. "We have a broad range of interests we will continue to pursue with the government and people of Kyrgyzstan."
In Moscow, a top Russian official denied Moscow had played a role in Bishkek's decision. "This is the decision of the Kyrgyz leadership, not the Russian leadership," Deputy Prime Minister Sergey Ivanov said in an interview. "It is a sovereign state."
The base was set up to assist coalition forces fighting to oust the Taliban from Afghanistan in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.
Public calls
After the ejection of another base from Uzbekistan in 2005 it became the only U.S. base in the Central Asian states. Kyrgyz officials had voiced frustration that the base had remained so long, even as some analysts suspect Kyrgyzstan would like to secure higher payments from Washington.
The announcement came after growing public calls and petitions seeking the base's closure by local residents, angered by such incidents as the 2006 shooting of a Kyrgyz truck driver by a U.S. guard. U.S. officials said the man was shot in self-defense.
According to the lease, Kyrgyzstan must give six months' notice of any decision to shut the base. Bakiyev announced the closure as Moscow promised Bakiyev more than two billion dollars in loans and aid to assist his nation struggling in the face of the global economic crisis. Despite denials, observers say Moscow made it clear the financial assistance would come only on condition of the base's closure.
"It has not been an easy decision and it's directly connected to cooperation with Russia," Iskhak Masaliyev, a lawmaker in Kyrgyzstan said. After the Kremlin talks, Bakiyev complained that the U.S. had been less than forthcoming in giving aid to compensate for Bishkek's hosting of the base.
Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev announced the closure a day earlier in Moscow, fueling widespread opinion that the decision came under pressure from Russia, which has been irritated by the U.S. presence in ex-Soviet territory. The government rapidly approved a bill ordering the base's closure yesterday and is to submit the text to parliament for a debate today, government spokesman Marat Kydyraliyev said. The bill "is about the cancellation of the agreement with the United States on the presence in Kyrgyzstan of the American air base," he said.
No notification yet
In the Kyrgyz capital Bishkek, the U.S. Embassy said it had not received any notice that Kyrgyzstan was ordering the closure of the base, which is located outside Bishkek at Manas and is home to over 1,000 foreign troops, most of them American.
U.S. Embassy officials were yesterday trying to hold talks with the Kyrgyz presidential administration but so far such requests were not being met, officials said. "Discussions will continue," the embassy said in a statement. "We have a broad range of interests we will continue to pursue with the government and people of Kyrgyzstan."
In Moscow, a top Russian official denied Moscow had played a role in Bishkek's decision. "This is the decision of the Kyrgyz leadership, not the Russian leadership," Deputy Prime Minister Sergey Ivanov said in an interview. "It is a sovereign state."
The base was set up to assist coalition forces fighting to oust the Taliban from Afghanistan in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.
Public calls
After the ejection of another base from Uzbekistan in 2005 it became the only U.S. base in the Central Asian states. Kyrgyz officials had voiced frustration that the base had remained so long, even as some analysts suspect Kyrgyzstan would like to secure higher payments from Washington.
The announcement came after growing public calls and petitions seeking the base's closure by local residents, angered by such incidents as the 2006 shooting of a Kyrgyz truck driver by a U.S. guard. U.S. officials said the man was shot in self-defense.
According to the lease, Kyrgyzstan must give six months' notice of any decision to shut the base. Bakiyev announced the closure as Moscow promised Bakiyev more than two billion dollars in loans and aid to assist his nation struggling in the face of the global economic crisis. Despite denials, observers say Moscow made it clear the financial assistance would come only on condition of the base's closure.
"It has not been an easy decision and it's directly connected to cooperation with Russia," Iskhak Masaliyev, a lawmaker in Kyrgyzstan said. After the Kremlin talks, Bakiyev complained that the U.S. had been less than forthcoming in giving aid to compensate for Bishkek's hosting of the base.