MOSCOW, February 11 (RIA Novosti) - Media reports
that the decision to close down a U.S. base in Kyrgyzstan has
been delayed due to Moscow and Washington holding talks on the
issue are false, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday.
"The possibility of the talks between Russia and the U.S.
is out of question, because the issue of the airbase at Manas
is an internal affair of the sovereign and independent state of
Kyrgyzstan," the ministry said in a statement.
The base at Manas airport, some 30 kilometers (17 miles)
east of the country's capital, Bishkek, hosts over 1,000 U.S.
military personnel and nine military transport and refueling
planes.
President Kurmanbek Bakiyev announced plans to close down
the base, used to support NATO operations in nearby Afghanistan
since 2001, after talks on February 3 in Moscow, where he
secured substantial financial aid from Russia.
Hearings on the closure of the base must first be held in
three parliamentary committees and also discussed by the three
main parties in parliament, before going to a final
parliamentary debate. So far only the parliamentary commission
on defense and security issues has approved the closure of the
base.
The Social Democratic Party of Kyrgyzstan postponed a
discussion on the closure of the base earlier on Wednesday, as
Foreign Minister Kadyrbek Sarbayev was unable to attend.
The United States will have 180 days to withdraw its
aircraft and 1,000 military personnel from the base once the
agreement is formally terminated.
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