By empty (5/6/2002 issue of the CACI Analyst)
Kyrgyz Foreign Minister Muratbek Imanaliyev today spoke out against a permanent US military presence in Kyrgyzstan. At a news conference in Bishkek, he commented on remarks made by some US politicians regarding the possibility of a lengthy stay for US military subunits on Kyrgyz territory. At the same time the minister stressed that Kyrgyzstan in every way possible supported and assisted the antiterrorist operation conducted by the international community in Afghanistan, since it had no desire for \"a source for the distribution of terrorism and instability\" in the region \"to remain there\".
Kyrgyz Foreign Minister Muratbek Imanaliyev today spoke out against a permanent US military presence in Kyrgyzstan. At a news conference in Bishkek, he commented on remarks made by some US politicians regarding the possibility of a lengthy stay for US military subunits on Kyrgyz territory. At the same time the minister stressed that Kyrgyzstan in every way possible supported and assisted the antiterrorist operation conducted by the international community in Afghanistan, since it had no desire for \"a source for the distribution of terrorism and instability\" in the region \"to remain there\". As the Kyrgyz foreign minister told ITAR-TASS, the USA has not yet approached the Kyrgyz authorities with a proposal to extend the duration of the US military contingent\'s stay in the republic. Under an intergovernmental agreement, should this document be terminated, or its duration extended, each of the sides is obliged to give the other side 180 days\' advance warning. This month marks exactly half a year since the signing of the intergovernmental agreement. According to Imanaliyev, not all the Central Asian countries approve of Kyrgyzstan\'s decision to allow coalition forces onto its territory. In particular, Tehran is displeased with the situation, something that was discussed at the recent talks in Bishkek between the Iranian [Kamal Kharrazi] and Kyrgyz foreign ministers. Imanaliyev stressed that the Kyrgyz side had assured the Iranian side that the US servicemen situated in Kyrgyzstan \"did not present any kind of threat to Iran\". Imanaliyev also noted that this issue was raised at his recent talks with the Russian and Chinese foreign ministers [Igor Ivanov and Tang Jiaxuan], but the sides came \"to the view that this was an internal matter for Kyrgyzstan\". (BBC)