The Manas Airbase in Kyrgyzstan will not be used against Iran - Michael McFaul

Πηγή: 24.kg News Agency
By Anton Lymar
Feb 24 2012

The Manas Airbase in Kyrgyzstan will not be used against Iran. The U.S. Ambassador Extraodinary and Plenipotentiary to Russia Michael McFaul stated this commenting on the statement of the Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Alexander Lukashevich, Russian media informed.

Reportedly, the representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry expressed concern that the U.S. Manas Airbase in Kyrgyzstan might be involved in a potential conflict with Iran. The Ambassador said that the Transit Center would not be used for the application of a possible military strike against the Islamic republic.

Though, according to the Rosbalt News Agency, the American diplomat said this unofficially, but made only this entry in his twitter account.

McFaul wrote that the Transit Center at Manas was used to support an international operation for stabilization and security in Afghanistan and would only be used for this purpose.

Recall, the agreement on the Transit Center operation expires in 2014. The current President of Kyrgyzstan Almazbek Atambayev stated the agreement would not be extended and the base must be withdrawn from the country.

Kyrgyzstan: new president pledges to boot US base

Almazbek Atambayev speaks with journalists outside a polling station in Kyrgyzstan's capital Bishkek on Oct. 30, 2011.

Πηγή: ww4report
November 1 2011

Kyrgyzstan's newly elected president, Almazbek Atambayev,announced upon his victory Oct. 31 that he will close Manas air base, which has been critical to the US campaign in Afghanistan. Atambayev said the lease for the US lease will not be renewed after it expires in 2014. He told the BBC: "The US base should be shut down. What if there is a war between the US and Iran, and in response Iran bombs the Manas? What will happen to us?" Atambayev served as prime minister under interim leader Roza Otunbayeva following last year's revolution, and has steered a course closer to Russia, which also has military forces in Kyrgyzstan.

Atambayev pledged to unify the country, after more than 400 people were killed in fighting between Uzbek and Kyrgyz communities in the south last year. "I will never use ethnic labels—Uzbeks, Tatars, Kyrgyz," he said. "In my own family we have many nationalities. I just want to tell you that in the future people who ignite inter-ethnic and regional tensions will be punished." Atambayev's assumption of the presidency will be the first time in Central Asia's post-Soviet history that a change in executive power occurs via the ballot box. But he is likely to face a legitimacy crisis over widespread reports of election irregularities. (BBC News, FT,EurasiaNet, Oct. 31)

See our last post on Kyrgyzstan and the Great Game for Central Asia.

See also our special feature on Obama and the Great Game .

Turkish-Kyrgyz relations on 20th anniversary of Kyrgyz independence

Πηγή: Todays Zaman
By Hasan Kanbolat
01 September 2011, Thursday

Aug. 31, 2011 is the 20th anniversary of the independence of Kyrgyzstan. To celebrate this occasion, meetings and events are being held in the country to discuss the past and the future. On Sept. 25, Kyrgyz Parliament Speaker Ahmadbek Keldibekov, along with a delegation of Kyrgyz deputies, will make an official visit to Ankara.

A protocol is expected to be signed envisaging cooperation between the parliaments of the two countries. Keldibekov will also reportedly brief the Turkish authorities on the upcoming presidential election, scheduled to take place on Oct. 30.

Despite the fact that the two countries are separated by a five-hour flight, Turkey and Kyrgyzstan share many ethnic, linguistic, historical and cultural ties. Turkey was the first country to recognize Kyrgyz independence and has been supportive of Kyrgyzstan during some tough times. Representatives from Kyrgyzstan made their first official visit to Turkey on Dec. 23, 1991, where a number of agreements were signed. Diplomatic ties have been maintained between the two countries from Jan. 29, 1992 and embassies were set up in both capitals. Kyrgyzstan has a consulate in İstanbul. More than 50 official visits have been held between the two countries since 1992 and nearly 150 bilateral agreements have been signed.

The basics and fundamentals of the bilateral relations of Kyrgyzstan and Turkey include steps such as: contributing to the restructuring of both states; the preservation of stability in Central Asian republics, including Kyrgyzstan; encouraging regional cooperation; backing economic and political reforms; the integration of regional countries within European and Atlantic institutions; the improvement of bilateral ties between Turkey and Kyrgyzstan in all fields in a way to recognize the sovereignty and independence of both parties; and supporting mutual relations with a reliance on strategies and plans.

Soon after violent incidents in Osh in June 2010, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu visited Kyrgyzstan on July 3 and pledged a $10 million grant and project support in the amount of $11 million. On Feb. 5, 2011, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan made an official visit to Bishkek. During Kyrgyz Prime Minister Almazbek Atambayev's visit to Ankara in April 2011, the parties set up a high-level strategic cooperation council to identify the strategies for bilateral relations. To this end, relevant commissions subordinate to the ministries will be set up under the supervision of both prime ministers, joint strategic planning groups will be set up and the role of the secretariat will be held by the foreign ministers of both countries. The two countries will also maintain security cooperation within this strategic cooperation council.

This will support Kyrgyzstan in its ongoing struggle against international terrorism and the preservation of its borders. Under the envisaged agreement, there will be consultation and dialogue between Turkish and Kyrgyz security forces and this will play a key role for the stability of the country. Another important step within the bilateral ties between the two countries is Turkey's role as mediator in settling Kyrgyzstan's border issues. In addition, the duration of visa-free stays was raised from 30 to 90 days and the parties agreed to increase the volume of bilateral trade from $150 million to $1 billion.

In conclusion, Turkey and Kyrgyzstan are working on a model towards the integration of both countries and both peoples. I wish the 20th anniversary of the beautiful country of Cengiz Aytmatov, Kyrgyzstan, brings them luck and prosperity.

200 Kyrgyz citizens may have trained in Al-Qaeda camps, official says

Osh faces threats from militant groups pushed northwards in Afghanistan and Tajikistan

Πηγή: Centralasianewswire
Tuesday, July 26, 2011


The security of the southern Kyrgyz province of Osh is still under threat from external groups, a high-ranking member of the Kyrgyz interior ministry said on Tuesday.

Southern Kyrgyzstan is under increasing pressure as militant groups from other countries, namely Tajikistan and further south, Afghanistan, the chief of the Internal Affairs Department said.

“As a result of the ongoing military operations by coalition forces in Afghanistan and Tajikistan, intelligence operations against the gangs, these gangs groups are displaced to the north of these countries, more and more closer to the southern borders of Kyrgyzstan,” the semi-official Kabar.kg reported Marat Orozbaev as saying during a working board of the mayor in southern city Osh.

“Also, there is preliminary information of national security of our country and Afghanistan that some 200 Kyrgyz citizens are in the territory of that state, and perhaps they are trained in special Al-Qaeda camps,” he said.

“These individuals presumably are relatives of the victims in last year’s June events in southern Kyrgyzstan. Yielding to extremist appeals, they went to Russia and then came to Afghanistan.”

The security official said it was very difficult to track down which Kyrgyz citizens spent time in Afghanistan as nearly 300,000 Kyrgyz citizens now live in Russia.