(NSI News Source Info) MOSCOW - March 27, 2009: Kyrgyzstan has invited
the U.S. to discuss retaining the Manas Air Base outside Bishkek that serves as a key supply route to Afghanistan, a senior U.S. official said in Moscow on March 27.
"We've agreed to enter into discussions with the Kyrgyz at their invitation on the possibility of the agreement (on the air base remaining in force)," the official, who asked not to be named, said in Moscow.
Kyrgyzstan on Feb. 20 officially set in motion the process for closing the airbase at Manas, outside the Kyrgyz capital, by handing the U.S. a 180-day notice to leave the base.
The base is a vital support post for U.S. and Western operations, as it is used for ferrying tens of thousands of troops in and out of Afghanistan each year and also hosts planes used for mid-air refueling of combat craft.
Kyrgyz Foreign Minister Kadyrbek Sarbayev said on March 26 after talks in Moscow that Kyrgyzstan was not reconsidering its decision to close the U.S. airbase.
the U.S. to discuss retaining the Manas Air Base outside Bishkek that serves as a key supply route to Afghanistan, a senior U.S. official said in Moscow on March 27.
"We've agreed to enter into discussions with the Kyrgyz at their invitation on the possibility of the agreement (on the air base remaining in force)," the official, who asked not to be named, said in Moscow.
Kyrgyzstan on Feb. 20 officially set in motion the process for closing the airbase at Manas, outside the Kyrgyz capital, by handing the U.S. a 180-day notice to leave the base.
The base is a vital support post for U.S. and Western operations, as it is used for ferrying tens of thousands of troops in and out of Afghanistan each year and also hosts planes used for mid-air refueling of combat craft.
Kyrgyz Foreign Minister Kadyrbek Sarbayev said on March 26 after talks in Moscow that Kyrgyzstan was not reconsidering its decision to close the U.S. airbase.
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