Kyrgyz leader signs deal allowing US to keep using the crucial Manas military air base
By APTuesday, July 7, 2009
Kyrgyz leader approves US deal for Manas base
BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan — Kyrgyzstan’s president has signed into a law an agreement allowing U.S. military forces to continue using a crucial airbase to ship supplies to troops in Afghanistan.
President Kurmanbek Bakiyev’s office said in a statement Tuesday that the deal approved last week will take immediate effect.
The decision reverses an eviction order announced by Bakiyev in February that would have kicked U.S. forces out of the Manas base by August. The order stunned Washington.
Being allowed to keep using Manas gives a much-needed boost to the U.S.-led coalition as it ramps up military operations against Taliban and al-Qaida militants in Afghanistan.
Under the new deal, the U.S. will pay Kyrgyzstan $60 million in annual rent for the facility, up from $17.4 million.
Tags: As-kyrgyzstan-us-base, Asia, Bishkek, Central Asia, Contracts And Orders, Kyrgyzstan, North America, Russia And Cis, United States
