BEIJING, April 26 (RIA Novosti) - The defense minister of Kyrgyzstan said Wednesday that a decision on the future of a U.S. airbase near Bishkek would be made after experts complete a study of the facility.
About 1,000 U.S. servicemen are currently stationed at the base, set up in December 2001 for U.S. led operations in neighboring Afghanistan, but its fate has been in the balance since Kyrgyzstan's president threatened to end a lease agreement unless Washington paid more for deploying its troops in the republic.
"A group of experts is currently working, and a decision will be made after it has finished its work," Ismail Ismailov told a meeting in Beijing of his counterparts from the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, a regional security grouping.
Ismailov said the coalition forces in Kyrgyzstan were not directed at any member of the SCO, which unites uniting Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.
"If there is peace in Afghanistan, then there will be peace in the Central Asian region," he said.
