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International News Title: Kyrgyzstan 'to shut key US base' Kyrgyzstan's president has said his government is closing a key US air base on its territory. Kurmanbek Bakiyev made the announcement in Moscow, where he was promised more than $2bn (£1.4bn) in aid by Russia. Despite this officials in Washington said the US was still hoping to continue using the Manas base. Manas - outside the Kyrgyz capital, Bishkek - supports US and Nato operations in Afghanistan and is the only US base in Central Asia. The closure of the base will be a big blow for those operations in Afghanistan, the BBC's Richard Galpin in Moscow says. The announcement comes at a critical moment, just as the new administration of US President Barack Obama plans a sharp increase in the number of American troops in Afghanistan. For Russia, on the other hand, it is a significant diplomatic victory as it seeks to reassert its influence in all former Soviet republics and beyond, our correspondent says. 'Right price' In Moscow, President Bakiyev said his government "has made the decision on ending the term for the American base on the territory of Kyrgyzstan". He said the Manas base - set up in 2001 to assist the US military operation against al-Qaeda and the Taleban in Afghanistan - was only meant to be open for two years at the most. map But perhaps more importantly, he made it clear the Americans had not been willing to pay what Bishkek regards as the right price to keep the base open, our correspondent says. He adds that now the Russian government has stepped in with a huge financial package for Kyrgygstan - $2bn in loans and another $150m in aid. 'Political positioning' In Washington, Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morell said active negotiations were under way with Bishkek on the Manas base. "It is a hugely important air base for us. It provides us with a launching off point to provide supplies to our forces in Afghanistan." "We are hopeful that we can continue our good relationship with the Kyrgyz government, and can continue to use Manas," Mr Morrell said. Meanwhile, Colonel Greg Julian, US spokesman in Afghanistan, told the Associated Press that Mr Bakiyev's statement was "political positioning". Last month, the top US military commander for the Middle East and Central Asia, Gen David Petraeus, held talks in Bishkek about the future of Manas. He said afterwards that the closure of the base had not been discussed.
Poster Comment: Looks like Russian paid them more money then we were willing to pay them. That and perhaps we wore out our welcome. I wonder if Obama is going to up the ante.
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#1. To: A K A Stone (#0)
Not so fast there, Lee Harvery...they came out and said that they ain't gonna close it until the receive 1/4 of the money. Russia has balked.
No Stems No Seeds That You Don't Need...
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