Kyrgyzstan has proposed the closure of a United States air base in Manas, outside the country's capital Bishkek [AFP]
Published On 5 Feb 20095 Feb 2009
But the US embassy in Kyrgyzstan has said talks over the air base's future would continue [AFP]
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The air base is vital for Washington's military operations in Afghanistan, and its closure could interfere with plans to send additional US troops to Afghanistan [AFP]
Kurmanbek Bakiyev, Kyrgyzstan's president, decided to set a deadline for the closure of the air base after talks with Dmitry Medvedev, his Russian counterpart [AFP]
The base in Manas had been set up to assist international forces in Afghanistan, but Kyrgyzstan has been unhappy over its prolonged presence [AFP]
The original deal by the US and Kyrgyzstan gave Washington six months to shut down the base after being informed of its closure by the government [EPA]
Kyrgyzstan says it wants the base closed because it believes Afghanistan's security situation has improved [EPA]
