Karzai to Kyrgyzstan: Let U.S. Air Base Stay Open

Afghan President Hamid Karzai has asked Kyrgyzstan to change its position on the future of a key U.S. air base which Bishkek has ordered closed, a Kyrgyz official said June 6.Kyrgyzstan voted in March to evict U.S.-led coalition forces from the airbase at Manas, a vital hub for the U.S. military and NATO allies and used to ferry troops and supplies in and out of conflict-torn Afghanistan.Maksim Kaganer, deputy head of the Kyrgyz presidential secretariat, told the Azattyk radio that Karzai sent a letter to Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev requesting him to reconsider the decision."He is asking Mr Bakiyev to show support to the people of Afghanistan in the fight with terrorism and allow the future use of the Manas base for international forces carrying out operations in Afghanistan."A source in Kyrgyzstan's foreign ministry told AFP that Karzai has offered to take part in one-on-one discussions with Bakiyev, possibly at a regional security summit meeting in the Russian city of Ekaterinburg this month."The key themes will be questions of providing assistance in the reconstruction of Afghanistan and the anti-terrorist coalition force at Manas based on Kyrgyz territory," the source said.The Kyrgyz government had announced it was evicting the U.S. military after Moscow agreed to provide more than $2 billion of loans and aid to the impoverished former Soviet republic.Since the closure was announced, Washington has secured transit routes for non-lethal cargo through several other Central Asian states, but the agreements do not address the problem of troop and military material transport.

Posted in: Afghanistan,Fighting Al Qaeda and Taliban