The Kyrgyz parliament has no plans to discuss the termination of an agreement with the U.S. on the lease of an airbase in the Central Asian country, a lawmaker said on Tuesday.
Kyrgyz media earlier reported that President Kurmanbek Bakiyev was planning to sign a decree ordering the closure within six months of the Manas base, which the United States has run since the 2001 U.S.led invasion of Afghanistan, reported RIA Novosti.
"Discussions on the airbase, proposed by the communist faction, have not been included in the agenda of the forthcoming plenary session to be held on Thursday," said Kabai Karabekov, a deputy chairman of the parliament's foreign affairs committee.
Karabekov said only the Kyrgyz parliament has the authority to terminate the agreement.
The question of the closure of the Manas base has fueled media speculation since December when both sides dismissed plans to shut the airbase.
The base, which is located at Manas airport some 30 kilometers (17 miles) east of the country's capital, Bishkek, hosts over 1,000 U.S. military personnel and nine military transport and refueling planes.
U.S. military officials said at the time that the base brought some $80 million income annually to Kyrgyzstan, including $17.4 million in rent and $2.64 million in wages for local employees.