USA, Kyrgyzstan to continue discussing Manas airbase terms

BISHKEK, January 6 (Itar-Tass) -- U.S. and Kyrgyz experts will soon start the second round of negotiations on terms of the deployment of an airbase of the international anti-terrorist coalition at Manas Airport of Bishkek, Kyrgyz Foreign Minister Alikbek Dzhekshenkulov told the Kyrgyz media on Friday.

He said the sides expect to make “a mutually beneficial and constructive decision” at the negotiations.

The coalition opened the airbase in Kyrgyzstan shortly after the September 11 bombings in the United States, the minister said. Back then Kyrgyzstan “strongly condemned acts of terrorism and expressed full support to the coalition’s anti-terrorist fight,” he said.

“We should say that Kyrgyzstan prioritizes national security and interests. At the same time, the mission of the Manas airbase and the deployment of forces of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) at Kant Airport of Kyrgyzstan contribute to the security and stability in Central Asia at large,” he said.

Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev said earlier that revenues from the deployment of the coalition airbase in Kyrgyzstan would increase dozens of times.

About 1,000 servicemen of the U.S. Air Force, several tanker planes and military cargo planes are currently stationed in Manas.