Kyrgyzstan lawmakers back US base

June 26, 2009|Associated Press

BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan - Kyrgyzstan’s Parliament unanimously approved a deal yesterday allowing the United States to continue using an air base crucial to military operations in Afghanistan, sharply shifting course months after ordering American forces out by August.

Lawmakers voted 75-0 to ratify the agreement, providing a much-needed boost to the US-led coalition as it ramps up military operations against Taliban and Al Qaeda militants and struggles to maintain other supply routes into Afghanistan. Five deputies abstained.

Approval was expected after Kyrgyz authorities announced a deal Tuesday to let the United States use the Manas air base as a transit center at more than triple the previous rent. Despite changes to the wording, the deal apparently will continue to allow the United States to transport weaponry, ammunition, and troops, as well as non-lethal military supplies.

“The main aim of the agreement between Kyrgyzstan and the United States is to fight terrorism and cooperate in providing assistance to Afghanistan’s government in maintaining security,’’ Foreign Minister Kadyrbek Sarbayev said.

The decision effectively reverses an eviction order under which US forces were to leave by Aug. 18.

President Kurmanbek Bakiyev stunned Washington in February by announcing the base would be closed, citing what he called insufficient compensation and other concerns.

US officials have said Russia was behind that decision. Bakiyev was sitting next to Russian President Dmitry Medvedev when he made the announcement, hours after Moscow pledged more than $2 billion in aid, loans, and investment for the struggling ex-Soviet republic.

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