Kyrgyzstan vows to close key US air base

THE STANS

US hopes to continue using Kyrgyz base
The United States hopes to continue using an airbase in Kyrgyzstan despite threats to close it, a Pentagon spokesman said Tuesday, calling it "hugely important" for the resupply of US forces in Afghanistan._Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev was quoted in Moscow Tuesday as saying his government had decided to set a deadline for the closure of the base at Manas, a key logistics hub for US forces._Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell said active negotiations were underway with the Kyrgyz government on renewing an agreement on access to the base, the only one now in use by the US military in Central Asian countries on Afghanistan's perifery._"It is a hugely important air base for us," Morrell said. "It provides us with a launching off point to provide supplies to our forces in Afghanistan."_"We are hopeful that we can continue our good relationship with the Kyrgyz government, and can continue to use Manas in support of our operations in Afghanistan," he said._The apparent impasse over Manas comes as the United States gears up for a major buildup of forces in Afghanistan, which will require a bigger flow of arms, materiel and supplies into the landlocked country._Highlighting the tenuousness of the supply lines, insurgents dynamited a bridge Tuesday in Pakistan's Khyber district, halting traffic on the main overland supply route for US forces in Afghanistan._"We are aware of it and are looking into how severe the damage is and what the alternatives might be for our supply lines," Morrell said._Concerns about US supply lines through Pakistan, which have come under repeated insurgent attack in recent months, have prompted intensified efforts by the US military to secure alternative routes through Central Asia._General David Petraeus, the commander of US forces in the Middle East, and General Duncan McNabb, the head of the US transportation command, have visited the region in search for new ways to keep US forces supplied._During a January 19 visit to Bishkek, Petraeus said the United States provides Kyrgyzstan 150 million dollars worth of assistance a year._The United States has relied on Manas since 2005 when it was evicted from a former Soviet air base in Uzbekistan after a falling-out over a government crackdown on pro-democracy protesters._There are about 1,200 US military personnel at the Manas base._Russia has sought the closure of the base, which is a symbol of US influence in post-Soviet Central Asia, a region long dominated by Moscow.

by Staff Writers
Moscow (AFP) Feb 3, 2009
Kyrgyzstan vowed Tuesday it would order the closure of a US airbase on its soil whose presence has irritated Moscow, on the same day it received a generous Russian financial aid package.

The Manas air base serves as a vital supply route for NATO forces in Afghanistan but its location deep in former Soviet territory has annoyed an increasingly assertive Russia keen on restoring its influence in Central Asia.

"The government of Kyrgyzstan has taken a decision over the ending of the time period for the American base to remain on the territory of Kyrgyzstan," President Kurmanbek Bakiyev said after talks with his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev.

"The decision will be announced very soon," he added, in comments broadcast on state television. No timeframe was announced, although some reports have suggested the base will be given six months to close.

The United States immediately underlined the importance of the base, hoping that it would remain open and calling it "hugely important" for the resupply of US forces in Afghanistan.

Coinciding with the announcement by Bakiyev, Russia agreed to a financial aid package settling an estimated 180-million-dollar debt owed by cash-strapped Kyrgyzstan to Moscow.

Russia also agreed to extend an interest free grant worth 150 million dollars to Kyrgyzstan as well as a loan worth two billion dollars, Russian news agencies reported.

There was no official mention of a link between the base's closure and the aid, but there has been intense speculation that Moscow has been using its financial muscle to get its way in its former Soviet territory.

The Kommersant newspaper said Russia "has laid down a strict condition: the provision of Russian financial help should lead to an official announcement by Kyrgyzstan on renouncing its obligations on the presence of the US airbase."

Bakiyev also grumbled that by contrast the United States had been less than forthcoming in giving aid in compensation for Bishkek's hosting of the base.

He said that when the base had been set up to assist coalition forces fighting to oust the Taliban from Afghanistan in the wake of the September 11, 2001 attacks it had only been supposed to exist for one or two years.

"Now eight years have passed. We discussed the question about economic compensation more than once with the United States but we did not find understanding," he said.

Medvedev said the base's future was a Kyrgyz issue but that "without this we would be able to join forces to enable a stabilisation of the situation in the region."

The base at Manas airport near Bishkek is a supply point for Western operations in Afghanistan and had grown in importance as Washington steps up Afghan operations and faced difficulties with another route through Pakistan.

The importance of the northern route into Afghanistan was underlined as suspected militants blew up a key bridge in northwest Pakistan on Tuesday, suspending a NATO supply line.

"We are hopeful that we can continue our good relationship with the Kyrgyz government, and can continue to use Manas in support of our operations in Afghanistan," Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell said in Washington.

"It is a hugely important air base for us."

On a visit to Kyrgyzstan on Monday a NATO envoy, Robert Simmons, stressed the base's importance, saying it would be a matter for "regret" if it closed.

Paul Quinn-Judge, an analyst with the International Crisis Group, said that Bakiyev was desperate for aid amid mounting problems, including an energy crisis and declining remittances from migrant workers in Russia.

There is also the prospect of elections due next year but possibly to be held sooner.

"The government is in serious financial straits. It's facing economic crisis.

"Bakiyev is haggling very hard. Quite clearly he needs the money. The unanswered question is how far he's going to be willing to go to get the money," Quinn-Judge said by phone from Bishkek.

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THE STANS

Taliban violence spreads in Afghanistan: US report

Washington (AFP) Feb 2, 2009
The Pentagon said Monday that insurgent violence was on the rise across Afghanistan and that international forces lacked the troops and resources to control the country's south.

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