By IANS/RIA Novosti,
Bishkek : Pentagon chief Leon Panetta has arrived in Kyrgyz capital Bishkek for talks with the country’s Defence Minister Taalaybek Omuraliyev.
“The agenda of the talks is not known,” a ministerial spokeswoman said.
Last week, US ambassador to Kyrgyzstan Pamela Spratlen said America was looking for a “sober discussion” on the future fate of the US base at Manas airport.
The US began operations at the Manas base near Bishkek in 2001 in the aftermath of the 9/11 attack to support military operations against the Taliban in Afghanistan. It remains a key supply facility for the military campaign there.
When Kyrgyz President Almazbek Atambayev assumed his post last November, he said Kyrgyzstan would not prolong the lease with the US.
“There must be no foreign military contingent at the civil airport in Manas after the summer of 2014,” Atambayev reiterated in February.
Atambayev’s press secretary said the president would not meet Panetta.
The US base currently hosts a fleet of coalition aerial tankers for refuelling fighter and surveillance aircraft used in Afghanistan.