Kyrgyzstan is ready to negotiate a new deal with the United States on allowing U.S. troops to operate in the Central Asian nation despite its earlier decision to shut down a U.S. air base, news reaching Almaty from Bishkek reported Thursday.
Presidential spokesman Almaz Turdumamatov said the decision on Manas base would not be changed, but the possibility of negotiating a separate arrangement allowing U.S. troops in the country is not ruled out.
"The decision on the base is final... but the doors for negotiation with the United States are open", he said.
Kyrgyzstan is prepared to open a corridor for the transit of non-lethal U.S. military supplies to Afghanistan, reports said.
Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev signed on Feb. 20 a decree to officially shut the Manas air base after the Kyrgyz parliament voted overwhelmingly in favor of the closure.
The U.S. military are required to remove its soldiers and equipment out of the air base in six months once it is notified by the Kyrgyz government.
Bakiyev said in February that he had decided to shut down the air base as the United States was not paying enough rent.
The announcement on the closure also followed Russia's pledge of more than 2 billion U.S. dollars in aid. Both Kyrgyzstan and Russia have denied any links between the Manas closure and Moscow's financial help.
The United States began using the Manas base shortly after it launched anti-terror operations in Afghanistan following the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
About 15,000 people and 500 tons of cargo monthly move in and out of the Manas air base, the only U.S. facility in Central Asia and a key logistic center for American-led operations in Afghanistan.
(Xinhua News Agency March 6, 2009)