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BISHKEK — Kyrgyzstan said Thursday that a new deal allowing the U.S. to continue using a Kyrgyz air base to ship military supplies to Afghanistan was meant to support the fight against terrorism.
The agreement, an abrupt about-face four months after Kyrgyzstan ordered American forces out by August, won unanimous parliamentary approval Thursday. Officials were vague, however, about how the new deal will differ from the current one.
Lawmakers voted 75-0 in favor of the agreement, providing a much-needed boost to the U.S.-led coalition as it ramps up military operations against Taliban and al-Qaida militants, and struggles to maintain other supply routes into Afghanistan. Five deputies abstained.
Approval had been expected after Kyrgyz authorities Tuesday announced a deal to let the U.S. use the Manas air base — previously called an anti-terror coalition base — as a "transit center" at more than triple the previous rent.
Despite the change of wording, the deal apparently will continue to allow the U.S. to transport weaponry, ammunition and troops as well as non-lethal military supplies.
In addition to the transit of troops and armor, the Manas base is used to refuel tanker planes that provide in-flight refueling of allied jets circling Afghan skies. It also is a key medical evacuation point.
The U.S., which is having problems getting supplies to Afghanistan overland from Pakistan,
has had access to Manas, outside the Kyrgyz capital Bishkek, since 2001. The importance of Manas to Afghan operations grew after neighboring Uzbekistan evicted U.S. troops from a base there in 2005.
"The main aim of the agreement between Kyrgyzstan and the U.S. is to fight terrorism and cooperate in providing assistance to Afghanistan's government in maintaining security," Foreign Minister Kadyrbek Sarbayev said. "We will take all necessary measures to enable the operation in Afghanistan."
Last year, 170,000 military personnel passed through Manas, and U.S. military planners remain hopeful it could act as a key hub in helping increase troop numbers in Afghanistan by around 20,000.
The decision approved Thursday effectively reverses an eviction order under which U.S. forces were to leave by Aug. 18. President Kurmanbek Bakiyev stunned Washington in February by announcing the base would be closed, citing what he called insufficient compensation and other concerns.
U.S. officials have said Russia was behind that decision. Bakiyev was sitting next to Russian President Dmitry Medvedev when he made the announcement, hours after Moscow pledged more than $2 billion in aid, loans and investment for the struggling ex-Soviet republic.
Russia has long been wary of the U.S. military base deep in its traditional sphere of influence. But Moscow, hoping for better ties with Washington under President Barack Obama, now appears eager to cooperate with the U.S. on Afghanistan. It has agreed to allow railway transit of Afghanistan-bound non-lethal U.S. supplies across its territory.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, in televised remarks during a trip to Namibia on Thursday, said he discussed with the Kyrgyz president efforts to help fight terrorism through transit of military supplies. Medvedev hailed the Kyrgyz parliament's decision, saying it will "help the joint effort of fighting terrorism."
Under the new deal, the U.S. will pay Kyrgyzstan $60 million in annual rent for the facility, up from $17.4 million. The U.S. will also allocate $37 million to build new aircraft parking slots and storage areas, plus $30 million for new navigation systems.
Washington also has committed to giving Kyrgyzstan $51.5 million to combat drug trafficking and terrorism and promote economic development.
While the base is designated as a transit center, the Kyrgyz foreign minister said U.S. supplies shipped through the base will not be subject to inspection by Kyrgyzstan. He avoided a question from lawmakers who asked whether weapons or ammunition will be transported. "The agreement does not spell out these points," Sarbayev said.
Communist Party lawmakers, who wanted the U.S. out of Kyrgyzstan, said the transit center designation was a fig leaf to avoid embarrassment for an about-face on the issue. "It's clear they won't be transporting peaches," Communist faction leader Iskhak Masaliyev said, according to Russia's Interfax news agency.
Mars Sariyev, an independent Kyrgyz political analyst, suggested the details were left vague to allow Kyrgyzstan, in agreement with Russia, to impose restrictions on U.S. use, if the Kremlin is unhappy with the outcome of an Obama-Medvedev summit next month.
Speaking in parliament before the vote, the Kyrgyz foreign minister told lawmakers they should consider the deteriorating security situation in nearby Afghanistan and Pakistan, which he said could destabilize Central Asia. In February, Kyrgyz officials cited security improvements in Afghanistan as a reason for closing Manas.
"When I spoke recently about the cancellation of the lease agreement for Manas, who among us could have imagined what has started to take place in Pakistan — the hostilities and the other events that we are witnessing?" Sarbayev said.
Obama recently sent Bakiyev thanks for Kyrgyzstan's support of U.S.-led operations in Afghanistan, according to U.S. Embassy officials in Bishkek. Afghan President Hamid Karzai also has appealed to Bakiyev to leave the base open.
(This version CORRECTS deputy's name in graf 14 pvs.)
