Azerbaijan, Baku, Oct. 17 /Trend, V.Zhavoronkova/
It is early to speak about the future fate of the Manas Transit Center after NATO forces' withdrawal from Afghanistan, scheduled for 2014, Kyrgyz expert Orozbek Moldaliyev said.
"It is too early to speak about the future of Manas, in many respects, it will depend on the situation in Afghanistan in 2014," Moldaliyev told Trend over phone from Bishkek.
On Monday, Kyrgyz acting Prime Minister Omurbek Babanov said that further fate of the Manas Transit Center will be determined within the framework of CIS should NATO decides to stay in Afghanistan after 2014. According to U.S.-Kyrgyz agreement, the U.S.-led Transit Centre may remain in Bishkek by withdrawal of NATO forces from Afghanistan in 2014.
Transit Center in Manas is NATO facility at Manas International Airport near Bishkek primarily operated by the U.S. Air Force. The base was opened in December 2001 to support U.S. military operations in the ongoing war in Afghanistan.
As expert said no-one can decide whether U.S. base should stay in the country except the state parliament.
"Neither Prime Minister, nor other countries or international organizations are able to make such decisions," he said.
Moldaliyev believes statements as today's made by country's high-level officials can be connected with current pre-election campaign. Kyrgyzstan will hold presidential elections on Oct. 30.
"Also, Babanov's statement can be considered as a political motion aimed at studying other countries reaction to it," he said.
According to observers, this can be connected with the change of Kyrgyz foreign policy course towards Russia.
But, expert believes current Kyrgyz politics is multi-vectored and it is unlikely to change in a favor of one foreign ally, such as Russia or U.S.
Moldaliyev said Russia will remain one of the key partners of Kyrgyzstan, but it doesn't mean that it will be the only.
Kyrgyzstan will also cooperate with West and China because this meets its national interests, he added.
Manas transit centre is important not only for Kyrgyzstan's state security, but for the whole region of the Central Asia because the terrorist threat is still coming from Afghanistan, Moldaliyev noted.
"NATO's withdrawal from Afghanistan without full stabilization in the country doesn't meet the interests of U.S., Russia as well as the region as a whole," he said.