La Russie triomphante après la fermeture de la base américaine au Kirghizistan[en] 

Russia, although supportive at official level of the anti-terrorism campaign in Afghanistan, is wary of the US presence in Kyrgyzstan. Moscow has an air base in Kyrgyzstan too. 

Analysts say US President Barack Obama realises he needs Russian cooperation to turn the tide in Afghanistan, where the Taliban are increasingly showing their strength. 

Analysts also think Moscow will call for NATO expansion to be halted in exchange for safeguarding supply routes for US and NATO forces to Afghanistan. It could also ask the US to abandon its controversial missile defence installation, planned for Poland, and its corresponding radar system, to be installed in the Czech Republic. 

The announcement, made by Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev in Moscow, came as a surprise to Western observers and could mark a turning point for the United States' policy of supporting NATO expansion since the collapse of communism in the 1990s. 

Speaking in Moscow, Bakiev confirmed that his government had decided that "the time has come to close this military base on our country's soil".

"You will probably see the media reports on this tomorrow or the following day. Kyrgyzstan will now begin following the procedures in accordance with the government decision to close this base," Bakiev said. 

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev confirmed the announcement at a press conference in Moscow, announcing generous economic aid for its neighbour.

"According to the documents we have just signed, Russia will accord Kyrgyzstan loans for a total $2 billion and will provide $150 million in financial aid," he said. 

The base, which is located at the Manas civilian airport near Kyrgyzstan's capital Bishkek, is an important facility, home to the tanker planes that refuel warplanes flying over Afghanistan. It was leased to the US in 2001, at the beginning of the military campaign in Afghanistan following the September 11 terrorist attacks on US soil. 

Russian deputy foreign minister triumphant 

A triumphant Russian deputy foreign minister gave a telephone press conference from Moscow to foreign journalists on Wednesday (4 February). Grigori Karasin insisted that the massive financial support Moscow gave to the impoverished former Soviet Republic was a completely separate issue from the closure of the US airbase.

Responding to a question from EurActiv, Karasin dismissed suggestions that Moscow's strategy was to provide bases for US Afghan operations in exchange for Washington abandoning its anti-ballistic missile (ABM) shield. 

"Your view is a bit cynical and straightforward," he said. "We live in a much more complicated world."

But he then added: "But obviously, we live in a world which is so interconnected, and where too many countries think in different ways, including countries of Central Asia. Afghanistan is a separate story, and ABM is something else."

"So we shouldn't make the discussion of these issues in a straightforward way. We should rely more on experts, sober-minded politicians, and from that point of view, the ideas which were announced in recent days by president Obama, were received as an invitation for joint thinking and joint actions," the Russian diplomat said, speaking in English. 

At the conference, Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiev gave the following explanation for the closure of the US base: 

"Regarding your […] question about the military base used by the coalition forces, yes, we did discuss this matter too, and not for the first time. I think it is worth recalling a bit of the history of how this base was opened in the first place." 

"That was back in 2001, when real military operations were underway in Afghanistan, operations using artillery, military aircraft and so on. In other words, a real war was underway […] And I must say that over this time that the coalition forces have been carrying out their mission to combat international terrorism, we discussed the issue of economic compensation for Kyrgyzstan for use of the base many times with our American partners. 

"Unfortunately, however, we failed to reach an understanding with the United States. For three years now, we have been talking about the need to revise the terms of the agreement and settle the issue of economic compensation, which at present does not satisfy Kyrgyzstan at all. But the United States has not shown understanding. That is the purely economic side of the issue." 

"There is also another aspect to the issue that I should mention. For more than two years, in my meetings with President Bush, former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, the secretary of defence, and American senators, at all my meetings I raised the issue of completing the criminal case of the murder of our citizen Ivanov. Unfortunately, it has been more than two years and the United States has still not taken any action. How can we talk about independence and sovereignty if Kyrgyzstan is not even able to protect its citizens in accordance with the law?" 

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said the signed agreements went "beyond the limits of bilateral relations in significance". The Kremlin website quotes Medvedev as saying: 

"What I particularly want to stress once more in the case of our countries is that we have a strategic partnership, and this explains everything. We […] think it strategically important to bolster our economic ties with the Republic of Kyrgyzstan. We think it important to carry out the big investment projects that will help to develop the region and address complex social and economic problems. This includes the construction of hydroelectricity production facilities such as the Kambaratinskaya Hydroelectric Power Station 1." 

"It is for this reason that we discussed financial support and issues such as stabilising the financial situation, aid provision, and financing for this big project, on what I emphasise are preferential terms […] I think that the set of agreements we just signed go far beyond the limits of bilateral relations in significance. This is an unprecedented project and these are unprecedented support measures, especially in the financial crisis situation."