Wednesday May 13, 2009
U.S.-Kyrgyz air traffic deal not linked to Manas - govt
By Olga Dzyubenko
BISHKEK (Reuters) - A U.S. plan to earmark $30 million to help Kyrgyzstan improve its air traffic systems will not affect Kyrgyz plans to evict U.S. forces from an air base on its soil, the government said on Wednesday.
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C-17 Globemaster takes off past a KC-135 Stratotanker at Manas Air Base near Kyrgyzstan's capital Bishkek in this February 13, 2009 file photo. (REUTERS/Shamil Zhumatov/Files) |
A U.S. Senate panel approved the money on Tuesday as part of the foreign aid portion of a bill to fund the Iraq and Afghan wars for the remainder of this year.
A Kyrgyz government spokesman said the plan had nothing to do with Kyrgyzstan's decision to evict U.S. forces from its section of the Manas air port, used by U.S. forces to support military operations in nearby Afghanistan.
"This question ($30 million) has been discussed for a long time, long before the decision on the air base was made," said the spokesman, Aibek Sultangaziyev.
"The United States has been planning to allocate this money to improve the takeoff runway and the airport ramp. ...
"The decision (to shut the U.S. base) has been enforced and the Americans have to leave Kyrgyz territory on Aug. 18 in line with the Foreign Ministry's notification."
The Pentagon said recently that the United States had made progress in trying to persuade Kyrgyzstan not to close the base. But Kyrgyzstan denied that talks on the matter were being held.
Kyrgyzstan announced its decision in February after securing pledges of $2 billion in aid and credit from Russia. About 1,000 U.S. military personnel are based at Manas.
Moscow sees former Soviet Central Asia, a vast mainly Muslim region wedged between Afghanistan, Iran, China and Russia, as part of its traditional sphere of interest and has criticised the U.S. military presence there.
Russia operates its own air base in Kyrgyzstan, a mountainous and impoverished nation of five million, to counter balance U.S. efforts to boost its influence in the region.
Senate Democratic aides said the Obama administration requested $30 million with the understanding that it would be used for air traffic control upgrades if and when a deal is reached with Kyrgyzstan to keep U.S. access to airfields there.
The $30 million in Kyrgyzstan funds are already in the House version of the war funding bill, which totals $96.7 billion. The House plans to vote on it on Thursday or Friday.
The Manas base is a major hub for moving military personnel and supplies in and out of Afghanistan, where the United States is deploying tens of thousands of extra troops this year in an effort to fight back against a resurgent Taliban.
Copyright © 2008 Reuters
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