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Kyrgyzstan OKs airbase deal with US: report

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-06-25 21:42

MOSCOW: The Kyrgyz parliament on Thursday ratified a new agreement with the US government for the continued use of the Manas airbase to transport supplies to Afghanistan, Russian media reported.

The documents have been forwarded to Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev for his signature, the Interfax news agency said.

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The one-year agreement concluded on Monday stipulates an annual payment of US$60 million from the United States to Kyrgyzstan for use of the base as a transit center, the RIA-Novosti news agency quoted Kyrgyz Foreign Minister Kadyrbek Sarbaev as saying.

The establishment of the transit center aims "to address the situation in and around Afghanistan, which is beginning to present a real threat to Central Asia, and Kyrgyzstan in particular," Sarbaev said.

The rental charges have more than tripled under the new deal, RIA Novosti said.

Sarbaev said the United States will also allocate US$36.6 million for the construction of additional aircraft parking and storage facilities.

He said Washington will establish a US$20-million joint fund for economic development, and will allocate US$21.5 million to combat drug trafficking near Afghanistan.

Commenting on the new deal, a Kyrgyz political analyst, Mars Sariyev,  was quoted by Interfax as saying: "The conclusion of the new Kyrgyz-US agreements definitely means that the United States is consolidating its grip on the Central Asian region, and it is doing it to stay for a long time.

"This is a very important strategic achievement for the United States, because not only will it stay but it will also expand the base, as the establishment of the transit center changes the wrapping but does not change the essence."

Sariyev also said that "Kyrgyzstan coordinated its position with Russia and would not have expanded the base without its consent."

However, the Russian daily, Kommersant, in an earlier report quoted a source from the Foreign Ministry as saying: "The news about the preservation of the airbase was an extremely unpleasant surprise to us. We did not expect such a trick."

The source also said Russia will respond accordingly.

The US military set up an airbase at Manas near the Kyrgyz capital Bishkek when it began military operations in Afghanistan in 2001.

The Kyrgyz parliament on February 19 approved a bill terminating the US lease of the Manas base.

The US forces were asked to leave the base by August 18.