Wednesday, June 24, 2009

DTN News: U.S. And Kyrgyzstan Draft New Air Base Deal: Report

DTN News: U.S. And Kyrgyzstan Draft New Air Base Deal: Report *Sources: DTN News / Defense Media (NSI News Source Info) BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan - June 24, 2009: The United States and Kyrgyzstan have drafted a proposed new agreement for U.S. forces to carry on using the Manas air base for operations in Afghanistan, a Kyrgyz government source said on Tuesday. In this April 14, 2007 file photo, U.S. soldiers patrol the air base during a joint military exercise with France, at the U.S. Manas Air Base, located near the Kyrgyz capital of Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. The United States and Kyrgyzstan have reached a deal for use of a Kyrgyz airport to transport U.S. non-lethal military supplies to Afghanistan, a senior Kyrgyz official said Tuesday, June 23, 2009, four months after the country said U.S. troops would be evicted. Parliament would start reviewing the proposed deal later on Tuesday, said the source, who declined to be named. "The government today submitted to parliament an agreement with the United States government on creating a transit center to provide logistics support for operations in Afghanistan," the source said. In February, Kyrgyzstan said it would shut down the base outside the capital Bishkek by August after securing pledges of $2 billion in aid and credit from Russia, which operates its own air base in the mainly Muslim Central Asian country. Manas is home to about 1,000 U.S. personnel and serves as a key refuelling point for aircraft used in military operations in nearby Afghanistan. (Reporting by Olga Dzyubenko; Writing by Olzhas Auyezov; Editing by Ralph Gowling)

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