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Kyrgyz Parliament votes to close down U.S. air base

by Yuliya Talmazan | February 19, 2009 at 10:39 am

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Kyrgyz Parliament voted in favour of shutting down U.S.-operated Manas air base. Americans now have 180 days to vacate the base’s premises and transfer 1000 of its military personnel elsewhere. The base used to be the only U.S. military base in Central Asia, and was a major logistic and supply center for the U.S. mission in Afghanistan. Although Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev claims the base is being shut down because the U.S. is not paying its rent, many suspect Kyrgyz government was pressured to close the American base by Kremlin after Russia offered Kyrgyzstan $2 billion in financial help. The U.S. now has to look to other countries in the region as potential locales for a new military base to supply its now growing military mission in Afghanistan.

This raises the question of whether the geography of American military bases will change drastically in the nearest future. The new U.S. administration is hastily leaving Guantanamo Bay to erase the bad track of alleged torture and human right violations, while Russia starts to exert pressure on Central Asian states to oust American bases in response to American ambitions to locate missile shields in Eastern Europe.

On the other hand, governments in Eastern Europe and Baltic States are open to cooperation with the U.S. and the new Obama administration. There have even been talks of moving Guantanamo Bay detention camp to the Baltic Sea with both Latvia and Estonia willing to welcome Guantanamo detainees.

Kyrgyzstan's parliament on Thursday approved the closure of a U.S. air base in the country, a key logistic center for U.S.-led operations in Afghanistan, Russian news agencies reported.

    The parliament, dominated by the ruling Ak-Zhol party, voted 78-1 to pass the government-backed bill.

    The United States began using the Manas air base shortly after it launched anti-terror operations in Afghanistan following the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

    Kyrgyzstan concluded an agreement with the United States on the Manas air base in December 2001. Another 11 countries from the anti-terror coalition joined the agreement from December 2001 to February 2002.

    To close the air base, Kyrgyzstan has to therefore terminate similar agreements it had signed with the United States and 11 other countries.

The air base currently hosts over 1,000 military personnel, mostly U.S. servicemen. The United States will have 180 days to vacate after receiving official notification.

Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev said earlier in February he had decided to close the air base, as the U.S. was not paying enough rent.

The announcement of the closure came after Russia offered Kyrgyzstan more than 2 billion U.S. dollars in aid. However, both Kyrgyzstan and Russia denied any links between the Manas closure and Moscow's financial help.

The closure would further strain coalition supply lines at a time when U.S. President Barack Obama is planning to send more troops to Afghanistan.

    The new U.S. administration is considering resuming military cooperation with Uzbekistan after the closure of the Manas base, to ensure logistic supplies to Afghanistan.

    The U.S. used the Khanabad Airport in Uzbekistan as an airbase until soured ties in 2005 led to U.S. troops being evicted from there, leaving Manas as the only air base for the United States in Central Asia.

    Meanwhile, Kyrgyz Foreign Minister Kadyrbek Sarbaev said Wednesday that his country does not rule out the possibility of allowing the United States and other countries to use its air space after the closure of the Manas air base.