Kyrgyzstan Says U.S. Base Closure Is Final

Last month the Central Asian state`s parliament swiftly backed Bakiyev`s decision to close the Manas air base.

Kyrgyzstan will not reverse its decision to shut a U.S. military air base that was used by Washington for the war in Afghanistan, a spokesman for President Kurmanbek Bakiyev said on Thursday.

Last month the Central Asian state's parliament swiftly backed Bakiyev's decision -- announced in Moscow after he secured $2 billion in aid and loans from Russia -- to close the Manas air base 35 km (22 miles) from the capital Bishkek.

But when Bakiyev was asked by a BBC reporter on Wednesday whether Kyrgyzstan could allow the U.S. troops to stay, he replied: "We are ready for any new proposals from the U.S. government aimed at stabilising the situation in Afghanistan."

The audio recording of the interview was posted on Thursday on the BBC's Russian news website www.bbcrussian.com

Bakiyev's spokesman said on Thursday that the president did not mean that Kyrgyzstan would change its mind.

"The decision has been made, the (base) agreement has been cancelled by the parliament, but the doors are open for talks on the situation in Afghanistan," spokesman Almaz Turdumamatov said.

Bakiyev's office said in a statement later on Thursday that "although the last American soldier will leave Kyrgyzstan in August", the country was ready "to offer its territory for the transit of non-military goods."

After the vote in parliament, Kyrgyzstan handed a formal notice to the U.S. embassy last month giving the troops six months to leave the air base.

On Thursday, parliament's committees started voting on cancelling the agreements on Manas with the other 11 members of the U.S.-led coalition fighting Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan. The final voting could be held on Friday.