Kyrgyzstan's Decision to Close US Base 'Final'
By VOA News
06 February 2009
Kyrgyzstan says its decision to shut down a U.S. military base is "final."
That word from a Kyrgyz government spokesman Friday contradicts earlier statements from both Kyrgyzstan and the United States that discussions about the base are continuing.
Despite the latest decision, the Kyrgyz parliament is expected to vote next week on a bill that calls for closing the base.
The Manas air base in Kyrgyzstan plays a major logistical role in supplying U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan.
Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev announced plans to shut the base on Tuesday in Moscow, shortly after securing $2 billion in loans and aid from Russia.
Meanwhile, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov says his country will allow the United States to cross Russian territory to deliver non-military supplies to Afghanistan.
Tajkistan is also offering help. The U.S. ambassador in Dushanbe says the Tajik president is ready to allow transport of non-military supplies to Afghanistan through his territory.
Diplomatic and defense sources say the United States is considering a military deal with Uzbekistan to establish an alternate supply route for NATO forces fighting the Taliban in Afghanistan.
Most U.S. and NATO shipments into Afghanistan have been arriving by road through Pakistan, but those convoys have increasingly come under attack from Taliban and al-Qaida militants in recent months.
The Obama administration has said it plans to send an additional 30,000 troops to join the international force battling Taliban and al-Qaida militants in Afghanistan, but closure of the base in Kyrgyzstan would increase the complexity of logistical support for those units.
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