Bishkek will not delay signing Russian base status agreement - source
BISHKEK. Aug 30 (Interfax) - The Kyrgyz-Russian draft agreements addressing the construction of the Kambarata-1 hydroelectric power plant and the Verkhny Naryn cascade of the dam have been initialed and forwarded to the two countries' ministries and agencies, and will soon be sent to parliamentary committees for consideration.
"We hope to finalize all of the interstate procedures on these agreements within the timeframe agreed upon with Russia in order to be ready to sign them by mid-September," a source in the Kyrgyz president's executive office told Interfax on Thursday.
Kyrgyzstan and Russia have also drawn up a draft agreement writing off Bishkek's $489 million debt to Moscow, the source said, adding that the debt write-off will be conducted in two stages.
A bilateral draft agreement regulating the status and deployment terms of Russia's combined military base in Kyrgyzstan has been prepared as well.
Kyrgyzstan's ongoing "political processes accompanied by the collapse of the parliamentary majority coalition and the cabinet's subsequent resignation will not effect the course of any interstate procedures, and the documents will be prepared without any delays, especially as President Almazbek Atambayev is personally coordinating the entire process," the source said.
Kyrgyzstan and Russia agreed at their negotiations in mid-August to sign the document dealing with the status and deployment terms of Russia's combined military base on Kyrgyz territory before a November 15 deadline, he said.
"The agreement "On the Status and Deployment Terms of the Russian Combined Military Base in Kyrgyzstan" and a protocol on cooperation in military issues for the period prior to the enactment of the agreement on the combined military base could be signed along with the package of agreements on cooperation in hydroelectric power plant construction and a debt write-off in September," the source said.
A separate protocol will regulate the presence of Russian military facilities on Kyrgyz territory before the military base document comes into force in 2017, the source said, adding that the new protocol would not change the essence of previously signed agreements.
Today Kyrgyzstan is home to four facilities deployed by the Russian Defense Ministry on Kyrgyz territory under an agreement that expires in 2017. The new 15-year deal, which will be prolonged every five years, will allow Russia to merge these facilities into one base.