New Kyrgyzstan President Says He Will Shutter U.S. Base

By Jon E. Dougherty at 3 Nov 2011

(Newsroom America) -- Kyrgyzstan's new president says he'll close the U.S. military base there when the current lease runs out in 2014.

President Almazbek Atambayev said the base, which is a crucial military hub for the U.S. war effort in neighboring Afghanistan, could pose a security risk to his country.

"We know that the United States is often engaged in military conflicts," Atambayev told reporters in the capital of Bishkek, which is near the base that is located at the Manas airport.

"There was Iraq and Afghanistan, and now there are tensions with Iran. I would not want any of these countries to launch a retaliatory strike on the military base one day," he said, according to local reports.

The country's former president, Kurmanbek S. Bakiyev, had threatened to close the base then but Washington persuaded him to let it remain after agreeing to pay an additional $40 million in rent per year and make expensive upgrades to the Manas airport.

Other Kyrgyz officials believe the country should look to Russia, which also maintains a military base in the country, for security.

Moscow has expressed concern in the past about having a U.S. military base in a region Russia considers within its zone of influence, The New York Times reported.

Atambayev has met often with Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, and has said he would like Kyrgyzstan to join in a Russian-led customs union with Belarus and Kazakhstan. He said he would like to replace the base with a civilian installation, "perhaps together with Russia, the United States or any other interested country."

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