Kyrgyzstan informs US of closure of transit centre for Afghanistan

Kyrgyzstan on Thursday officially informed the United States that a key transit facility for operations in Afghanistan will be closed next year. In an official note, Foreign Minister Erlan Abdyldaev told U.S. ambassador Pamela Spratlen that the two agreements on the use of the transit center at Manas International Airport will expire on July 11, 2014. The facility outside the capital city of Bishkek, which opened in 2001, is used for the transfer of military personnel in and out of Afghanistan. It is operated primarily by the U.S. Air Force, and has hosted troops of other countries that contribute to the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan. Kyrgyz authorities threatened to shut down the facility in 2009 and its closure was avoided after the United States agreed to pay more for its use. Since his election in late 2011, Kyrgyz President Almazbek Atambayev has repeatedly vowed to close the center when its lease runs out in July 2014. Atambayev in June 2013 signed into law a parliament decision to close the facility in July 2014.