Kyrgyzstan cancels remaining air base agreements

Kyrgyzstan cancels remaining air base agreements

Kyrgyzstan, which last month decided to close a U.S. military air base, on Friday canceled similar agreements with other members of the U.S.-led coalition fighting Taliban in Afghanistan.

 
The Central Asian state's parliament voted almost unanimously to cancel eleven agreements that allowed a number of European nations as well as Australia, South Korea and New Zealand to use the Manas air base.
 
Last month parliament backed President Kurmanbek Bakiyev's decision -- announced in Moscow after he secured $2 billion in aid and loans from Russia -- to close the Manas air base 35 km (22 miles) from the capital Bishkek.
 
The government then handed a formal notice to the U.S. embassy giving the troops six months to leave the base -- a key staging point for flying supplies to forces in Afghanistan.
 
 
PHOTO CAPTION
 
KC-135 Stratotanker is seen through the razor wire fence as it takes off at Manas Air Base near Kyrgyzstan's capital Bishkek, in this February 13, 2009 file photo.
 
Reuters

 

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