U.S. to shut air base in Kyrgyzstan by June 2014 - Kyrgyz leader
BERLIN. Dec 11 (Interfax) - The United States will close its air base at Bishkek's Manas Airport by June 2014, Kyrgyz President Almazbek Atambayev promised on Tuesday.
Atambayev said proposals for the withdrawal of the base came into being in 2010.
"But at that time I told representatives of the anti-terrorism coalition and the U.S. government that, in view of the situation in Afghanistan and action against al-Qaeda, the base will keep running until 2014. We will keep our word," Atambayev said after talks in Berlin with German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
"In the same year, 2010, we had an agreement with the U.S. government that that base would cease to exist in 2014," the Kyrgyz president said.
"We are willing to help with transportation after June 2014, but there will be no military component at the civilian airport. It's a civilian airport, it's situated next to the capital of Kyrgyzstan, and it's somewhat risky if a civilian airport has a military component to it," he said.
"We are proposing setting up a transportation hub [at Manas], and we invite any of the countries - Germany, the U.S., Russia - there, but there will be no military component there," Atambayev said.
