Kyrgyzstan to shut down US air base, under Russian influence

Russia influences Kyrgyz decision to close U.S. air base

By Alex Rodriguez |

Chicago Tribune staff reporter

February 5, 2009
MOSCOW -

At a time when the US urgently needs alternative supply routes into Afghanistan, the sudden announcement that Kyrgyzstan planned to shut down a vital American air base poses two new challenges for the Obama administration: Central Asian haggling and Russia's determination to keep the U.S. out of its backyard.

A day after Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev made the announcement during a visit to Moscow, the government drafted legislation Wednesday formalizing its intent to shut down the base at Manas, next to the airport in the Kyrgyz capital, Bishkek. Parliament still must approve the measure, but the chamber is controlled by Bakiyev's party.

The Kyrgyz government's move could put up additional logistical hurdles for President Barack Obama's plans to send up to 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan this year. Used by the U.S.-led campaign in Afghanistan since 2001, the base has become even more important recently, as attacks from Taliban fighters have made supply routes through neighboring Pakistan increasingly dangerous.

Assailants torched 10 trucks stranded in Pakistan by the bombing of a key bridge on the main supply route for U.S. forces in Afghanistan, The Associated Press reported Wednesday. A local government official told the AP that the trucks were returning from Afghanistan and that it was unclear whether they had carried goods for foreign troops.

Kyrgyzstan's motive appears to be economic survival. Hit hard by the global financial crisis, the small, impoverished former Soviet republic announced its intent to shut the American base at the same time it reached a deal with the Kremlin to receive a $2 billion Russian loan.

Russia opposes the U.S. military presence in Central Asian republics like Kyrgyzstan that once belonged to the Soviet Union, and in recent years has been pushing to reassert its influence over those nations.

While Kyrgyz officials said they would set a deadline of 180 days for the U.S. to pull out of Manas, they could be open to economic aid counteroffers from Washington. In announcing his decision, Bakiyev said the U.S. has balked at agreeing to pay more for staying at the base. The U.S. pays an annual rent of $63 million for Manas.

In Washington, U.S. State Department spokesman Gordon Duguid said the U.S. had not agreed to any new arrangement at Manas and that Kyrgyz officials had not notified U.S. officials about ending access.

The Kremlin has tried to detach itself from Kyrgyzstan's decision, portraying it as a move made by Bishkek without any influence from Moscow. It also tried to sound conciliatory, saying on Wednesday it wanted to cooperate in the fight against militants in Afghanistan.

"Russia and other [Moscow-allied former Soviet republics] are ready for full-fledged comprehensive cooperation with the United States and other coalition members in fighting terrorism in the region," said Russian President Dmitry Med?¨vedev. "This fight must be comprehensive and include both military and political components. Only in this case will there be a chance to succeed."

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Grigory Karasin said Russia already has told Washington it wants to provide alternative supply routes to Afghanistan. U.S. Central Command chief Gen. David Petraeus was recently quoted as saying that the U.S. has secured agreements to transport equipment for troops in Afghanistan through Russia, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.

"Several days ago we gave a positive answer to the United States on the question of transit to Afghanistan," Karasin said Wednesday. "We'll be flexible in many other ways which will support our joint success in Afghanistan."

The U.S. has been operating an air base in northern Kyrgyzstan since 2001, when American troops invaded Afghanistan to oust the Taliban regime and Al Qaeda fighters. It uses the base as a staging point for troops moving in and out of Afghanistan and for medical evacuation purposes. Tanker planes that refuel military aircraft also are housed there.

A second base that the U.S. used for Afghan operations, in neighboring Uzbekistan, was shut down in 2005 at Uzbek leader Islam Karimov's request after Washington and Western Europe denounced his regime's bloody crackdown on demonstrators in the eastern city of Andijan.

At first, the Kremlin gave in to the establishment of temporary American bases in Central Asia, experts say, largely because Russian leaders agreed that Islamic militants posed a significant threat in the region.

Later, however, as Moscow rebuilt its geopolitical clout on the shoulders of its energy wealth, the Kremlin grew wary of a US military presence in Central Asia and strove to bring back into its fold Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan--all former Soviet republics.

Kyrgyzstan to shut down NATO's air base

  Russia Today, February 3, 2009, 22:17

The President of Kyrgyzstan has announced that the US military will have to leave the Manas Air Base near Bishkek. The facility is key to NATO operations in Afghanistan. The Kyrgyz government said the US wasn't prepared to pay an appropriate fee to use the base.

Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev explained the decision was made due to economic considerations and the negative public attitude.

"When there were hostilities in progress in Afghanistan with the use of combat aircraft, Kyrgyzstan made its territory available  for fighting international terrorism. But at that time, it was one or two years that were being talked about. Eight years have passed. We have repeatedly raised with the United States the matter of economic compensation for the existence of the base in Kyrgyzstan, but we have not been understood,” he said.

Russia and Kyrgyzstan will continue cooperating with the United States on Afghanistan after the closure of the U.S. airbase in the ex-Soviet Central Asian state, the Russian president said on Tuesday.

"We could join our efforts to promote stability in the region, our countries will help the operations underway in the region. We are ready for coordinated action," said Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, adding that the decision to close the Manas base was up to Kyrgyzstan.

Manas airport in Bishkek has been home to a thousand-strong American airbase since 2001, the year Kyrgyzstan joined the anti-terror coalition set up after 9/11. The US base used to be the main hub for moving men, equipment and supplies to US and allied forces operating in nearby Afghanistan because of its 90-minute flying time to the war, instead of seven hours from other launching areas.

US march towards Asia
U.S. bases in Asia Shahbaz (Jacobabad) Air Base (AB), Pakistan

Khanabad (K2) Air Base, Uzbekistan

Kandahar Air Base, Afghanistan

Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar

Masirah Air Base, Oman

Al Dhafra Air Base, UAE

The September 11 attacks made Central Asia a region of high importance for the US Department of Defense. The United States found the Manas base to be useful for Afghan operations. It was named after Chief Peter Ganci Jr. of the New York City Fire Department, who died in the 2001 attack on the World Trade Center carried out by al-Qaeda.

The annual rent paid to the Kyrgyz government was $150 million.

In September 2003 three Kyrgyz citizens were convicted for an attempt to organise an attack on the base. On July 8, 2004 the attempt was repeated by militants believed to belong to the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan.
2005's Tulip Revolution followed, and President Askar Akayev's exile from the country made US Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld visit Bishkek to support the continued US presence at Manas. But the new Bakiyev administration demanded an increase in the rent for the Pentagon's use of Manas. Due to the December 4, 2001 agreement the price was a little over $2 million a year, and the new amount was increased to $100-200 million annually. The sum was clearly drawn out of a hat and after prolonged 12-month negotiations the price was agreed at $17.5 million per year.

Back to 2005

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev signed a joint statement October 11 in Bishkek expressing support for the presence of coalition forces in the Kyrgyz Republic "until the mission of fighting terrorism in Afghanistan is completed."

The Kyrgyz Republic "recognises the important contribution of the international anti-terrorist Coalition, located at the Ganci Airbase, in strengthening regional stability.

Kyrgyzstan - U.S. relations chilled after incidents between locals and military personnel. In one, a Kyrgyz citizen was
One Ganci accidentOn December 6, 2006 a Kyrgyz citizen was shot at Ganci airbase. Alexander Ivanov, a 43-year-old truck driver, appeared to be on a routine mission at Ganci when he was killed. Ivanov was reportedly shot twice in the chest while seeking permission to enter the US facility. As Kyrgyz police officers arrived at the scene, events rapidly escalated into a diplomatic incident. President Kurmanbek Bakiyev ordered the Foreign Ministry to begin reconsidering a provision on the status of US soldiers. The incident led to President Kurmanbek Bakiyev calling for U.S. military personnel to be stripped of their diplomatic immunity.
shot dead by a US soldier - who escaped prosecution due to immunity enjoyed by US military at the base. Some think that if more soldiers arrive, there'll be more trouble.

“I think President Bakiyev is concerned that if a conflict starts in Iran, then this base will be used for transporting military personnel, and this may cause social disturbances,” says Leonid Gusev, political expert.

Around half the Kyrgyz population lives below the poverty line. Political protests flare up sometimes, making the country one of the most politically volatile in Central Asia.
 
Water is the major domestic source of energy for Kyrgyzstan. But the nation doesn't have enough hydro-electric facilities, and the country has to pay market prices for oil and gas from neighbouring Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan.

Kazakhstan, along with China and other members of the Shanghai Co-operation Organization was urging Bishkek to kick the Americans out. Analysts say Russia's view, however, was driven by differing considerations.

“On the one hand Russia is interested in continuing the operation in Afghanistan, which threatens security in the south. But on the other hand, having the US in Central Asia irritates Moscow, which encourages its Central Asian colleagues to curb this presence,” Arkady Dubnov, an international correspondent, says.

For the withdrawal of the US forces from the base Kyrgyzstan expects to have its debts (about $180 million) written off by Russia in return. Manas turned out to be a burden for Askar Akayev, the toppled Kyrgyz President. Current President Kurmanbek Bakiyev promised Shanghai Cooperation Organisation members to close the air base; and has now fulfilled his promise.
 
In 2006 Kyrgyzstan pretended to play hardball with its American guests, demanding they pay $50 million more or quit. The Americans did neither.
 
With the U.S. vowing to increase the war effort in Afghanistan, this step of Kyrgyzstan makes the task harder for the coalition forces.

Kyrgyzstan says it's ending US use of an air base key to Afghanistan war efforts

By MIKE ECKEL | Associated Press Writer

2:29 PM EST, February 3, 2009

MOSCOW (AP) —

Kyrgyzstan's president said Tuesday his country is ending U.S. use of an air base key to military operations in Afghanistan— a decision with potentially grave consequences for U.S. efforts to put down surging Taliban and al-Qaida violence.

A US military official in Afghanistan called President Kurmanbek Bakiyev's statement "political positioning" and denied the US presence at the Manas air base would end anytime soon.

The United States is preparing to deploy an additional 15,000 troops in Afghanistan and Manas is an important stopover for U.S. materiel and personnel.

Ending U.S. access would be a significant victory for Moscow in its efforts to squeeze the United States out of Central Asia, home to substantial oil and gas reserves and seen by Russia as part of its strategic sphere of influence.


Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev spoke on a visit to Moscow minutes after Russia announced it was providing the poor Central Asian nation with billions of dollars in aid.

Bakiyev said when the U.S. forces began using Manas after the September 2001 terrorist attacks, the expectation was that they would stay for two years at most.

"It should be said that during this time... we discussed not just once with our American partners the subject of economic compensation for the stationing (of US forces at the base)," he said on Russian state-run TV. "But unfortunately we have not found any understanding on the part of the United States.

"So literally just days ago, the Kyrgyz government made the decision on ending the term for the American base on the territory of Kyrgyzstan," he said.

Col. Greg Julian, the U.S. spokesman in Afghanistan, denied there was any change in U.S. use of the base and he noted that Gen. David Petraeus, commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan and Iraq, just recently traveled there.

"I think it's political positioning. Gen. Petraeus was just there and he talked with them. We have a standing contract and they're making millions off our presence there. There are no plans to shut down access to it anytime soon," he told The Associated Press.

As recently as Jan. 19, Petraeus said he had received Kyrgyz assurances that Russia was not pushing for the base to close.

In Washington, Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell said: "I have seen nothing to suggest, other than press reports, that the Russians are attempting to undermine our use of that facility."

The United States set up Manas and a base in neighboring Uzbekistan after the September 2001 attacks to back operations in Afghanistan. Uzbekistan expelled U.S. troops from the base on its territory in 2005 in a dispute over human rights issues, leaving Manas as the only U.S. military facility in the immediate region.

Moscow, which fought a 10-year war in Afghanistan during the Soviet era, was initially supportive of U.S. efforts to keep Afghanistan from collapsing into new anarchy and stem the spread of militancy northward through ex-Soviet Central Asia.

But as Kremlin suspicions about U.S. foreign policy have grown, so has Russian wariness about the U.S. presence in Central Asia. Russia also uses a military air base in the ex-Soviet nation.

During his visit last month, Petraeus said that Manas would be key to plans to boost the U.S. troop presence in Afghanistan. He also said the United States currently pumps a total of $150 million into Kyrgyzstan's economy annually, including $63 million in rent for Manas.

About 1,200 U.S. troops are based at Manas.

Russia, however, agreed Tuesday to provide Kyrgyzstan with $2 billion in loans plus another $150 million in financial aid.

Kyrgyzstan is one of Central Asia's poorest countries and has been buffeted by political turmoil for years. Its economy has been strained to the limit this winter after neighboring Uzbekistan significantly raised prices for natural gas.

Most Kyrgyz have been supportive, or at least accepting, of the U.S. presence, though in 2007, widespread anger erupted after a U.S. serviceman at Manas shot and killed a Kyrgyz man during a security check. Kyrgyz investigators had asked the serviceman face criminal prosecution in their country.

Petraeus said during a trip to the region last month that the investigation will be reopened.

Central Asia is key to U.S. efforts to secure an alternative supply line to forces in Afghanistan. The main route, through the Khyber Pass in Pakistan's northwest, has occasionally been closed in recent months due to rising attacks by bandits and Islamist militants, including one on Tuesday that destroyed a bridge.

During his visit, which included a stop in Kyrgyzstan, Petraeus said Washington had struck deals with Russia and several Central Asian states to allow the transhipment of supplies heading to Afghanistan.

NATO spokesman Eric Povel said the alliance could not comment because use of the base was an issue for the U.S. and Kyrgyzstan.

"It's not a NATO base," he said.

___

Associated Press writers Jason Straziuso in Kabul, Leila Saralayeva in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan and Peter Leonard in Almaty, Kazakhstan, contributed to this report.