US, Kyrgyzstan agree on military airbase

BISHKEK, July 14 (Reuters) The United States today agreed terms with Kyrgyzstan to carrying on using a military airbase from which it supports operations in nearby Afghanistan.

Kyrgyzstan threatened to shut down the base in April if the United States did not pay more rent for it.

''The governments of the United States and the Kyrgyz Republic announce that they have today successfully concluded their negotiations on the continued coalition use of the Manas Air Base to support the ongoing war on terrorism in Afghanistan,'' the US embassy said in a statement.

It was unclear how much Washington would pay for the base, but the statement said the United States expected to provide over 0 million in total assistance and compensation over the next year.

US forces set up the Manas base in Kyrgyzstan when they overthrew the Taliban government in Afghanistan in 2001.

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