The United States and Kyrgyzstan are continuing talks on the future of a US military transit center at the Manas international airport, RIA-Novosti quotes US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Robert Blake as saying on Thursday.
“We are currently discussing the future of the Transit Center in Manas, but I would rather not speculate on the possible outcome of these discussions,” RIA-Novosti quotes Blake, who arrived in Bishkek to attend bilateral Kyrgyz-US consultations.
The US diplomat stressed that the center remains a key resupply facility for international forces fighting the Taliban in Afghanistan, adding that Washington supports the idea of creating a purely civilian transportation hub in the airport after the US lease expires in 2014.
The United States began logistics operations at Manas airport near the Kyrgyz capital Bishkek in 2001 in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks, to provide support for the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan.
Russia and Kyrgystan have not reach agreement on Manas yet
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