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Kyrgyz To Cancel Manas Transit Center Deal With U.S.


U.S. soldiers before boarding a plane on their way home from Afghanistan at the U.S. transit center at Manas in March.
U.S. soldiers before boarding a plane on their way home from Afghanistan at the U.S. transit center at Manas in March.
The Kyrgyz government has decided to cancel the U.S.-Kyrgyz agreement on NATO's use of the transit center at Manas International Airport near Bishkek as of July 11, 2014.

The announcement was placed on the cabinet's website on May 21.

It said a draft of the decision will be given soon to the parliament for approval.

A U.S. State Department spokesperson would not speculate on "hypothetical next steps."

In response to a request from RFE/RL, the spokesperson said the Transit Center "continues to operate under existing agreements" to support the international military coalition in Afghanistan.

The center is a transit base for troops and supplies and hosts about 1,000 U.S. military personnel and several U.S. Air Force tanker planes.

Kyrgyz President Almazbek Atambaev has stated a number of times that Manas "will not house a single military facility" after NATO troops are finished withdrawing from Afghanistan in 2014.

Based on reporting by gov.kg and Interfax

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