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Kyrgyz president reiterates shifting role of U.S. airbase after 2014

02 April 2012 21:53 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. The U.S. airbase in Kyrgyzstan should become a center for the transportation of civilian goods without a military component after 2014, Kyrgyz President Almazbek Atambayev said Monday, APA reports quoting Xinhua.

The president made the remarks while meeting with U.S. State Secretary Assistant for South and Central Asia Robert Blake here, according to the presidential press service.

It was not the first time that the newly-elected president made such remarks, which often pique the nerves of the United States.

U.S. ambassador to Kyrgyzstan Pamela Spartlen, who also attended the meeting, said that the United States intends to hold consultations with Kyrgyzstan on the fate of the Transit Center.

Washington believes that the base "is a very important subject, both for America and for the Kyrgyz Republic," Spartlen said.

The U.S. airbase at Manas, which was renamed to the U.S. Transit Center at Manas in 2009, began operations in Kyrgyzstan in December 2001 to support the military operation in Afghanistan. The lease agreement of the airbase will expire in 2014.

During the meeting, Atambayev also noted that Kyrgyzstan is interested in a long-term, and friendly partnership relations with the United States, while Blake praised the role of Kyrgyzstan in Central Asia, particularly in the restoration of peace and economic reconstruction in Afghanistan.

The two sides also discussed trade, economic cooperation, and combating threats and challenges to the modern world, such as terrorism and extremism, said the press service.