In 15 years: President announces closure of Russian military base in Kyrgyzstan


After the expiry of the agreement on the Russian millitary base, it ‘will have to leave’ the territory of Kyrgyzstan, President Almazbek Atambayev said at a press conference on December, 1.

“Russia will always remain our strategic partner, buy Kyrgyzstan should rely only on its own military forces, not Russian, American or those of any other country. We should build our own army,” AKI-press quotes Atambayev as saying.

The agreement for the deployment of Kant Air Base near Bishkek was signed in 2009 by Kurmanbek Bakiyev, a former president of Kyrgyzstan, The contract could be extended for 49 years, but the government made a different decision.

“We will keep it for just 15 years. The talks were nervous, many Russian ministers condemned our decision, but Vladimir Putin supported this idea,” Atambayev said.

Russia’s united air base ‘Kant’, which was opened in 1941, is 20 kilometres from the capital of Kyrgyzstan. The base is a component of the airspace security under Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) and part of the Collective’s rapid deployment forces. Sukhoi Su-25 jet planes and Mil Mi-8 helicopters are deployed here.

In June 2014, American troops vacated Manas Air Base (unofficially Ganci Air Base), a former U.S. military installation at Manas International Airport near Bishkek. It was handed over back to the Kyrgyzstan military. According to Almazbek Atambayev, the decision to close it was ‘right’. “The same applies to the Russian base,” he stressed.

Photo: kg.akipress.org

belsat.eu, following kg.akipress.org

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