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Kyrgyzstan Trims Cost of Manas Airport for the U.S.
It looks like Kyrgyzstan has dropped its militant attitude along with the recent claims to hike nearly 100 fold the fee for the U.S. air base in Manas airport. Bishkek calls for the constructive approach now but fails to agree on the new price with the United States.
The sentiment of the talks on revising the terms for the U.S. base in Manas was not simple but still friendly, said a source with Kyrgyz Defense Ministry when commenting on negotiations, which began in Bishkek May 31.
But despite that the personal letter of the U.S. President George W. Bush was safely delivered to Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev on May 31 and Kyrgyz authorities withdrew on June 1 the ultimatum on completing the talks by that day, the parties have hardly reached an understanding on the issue.
Under the agreement of December 4, 2001, the annual rent for the U.S. air base in Manas is a bit over $2 million, while the aggregate costs amount to between $160 million and $200 million, according to the U.S. embassy.
A source involved in the talks said Kyrgyzstan turned down calculations for the air base offered by spokesmen of the U.S. Department of State, and the U.S. delegation leaves for Washington on June 2. The standing of two states could near over the second stage of the negotiations, the source pointed out. But both the date and the place of the 2nd round are yet unclear.
Therefore, Bakiyev is apparently in a tight corner. Should the United States oppose the several-fold increase in payment for the base, Kyrgyz president wouldn’t be able to show the door to the U.S. military. Besides, the United States appears to be studying the chances of the multilateral cooperation with Kazakhstan. The tricky point is that the key partners of Kyrgyzstan in Shanghai Cooperation Organization, Russia and China, press for the definite moves towards the actual withdrawal of the U.S. military from that country.
www.kommersant.com
All the Article in Russian as of June 02, 2006
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