CIS Daily Bulletin, February 18

Below is a summary of events in the Commonwealth of Independent States on February 18:

Kyrgyzstan:

* The parliamentary faction of the Kyrgyz ruling party Ak Zhol unanimously voted to approve the closure of the U.S. airbase at Manas in the north of the country

Tajikistan:

* Tajik President Emomali Rakhmon will pay a working visit to Russia on February 24, the Kremlin press service said

Ukraine:

* Ukraine's prosecutors have launched an investigation into gas deals agreed with Russia and subject to presidential instructions and National Security Council decisions, a deputy prosecutor general told UNIAN

* Demonstrators burnt an Uncle Sam dummy during a protest against plans to open a U.S. diplomatic office in Simferopol, the capital of the Ukrainian autonomous republic of Crimea

* Authorities in Ukraine's city of Dnepropetrovsk have filed a lawsuit against gas company Naftogaz for cutting off heating supplies over alleged debts, the city mayor said

* Russia regards threats by the Ukrainian authorities to expel its ambassador as another attempt to damage Russian-Ukrainian ties, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement