U.S. airbase in the Kyrgyz airport Manas, which country’s authorities plan to close it, is an important point on the route to Afghanistan but it can be replaced, said U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates, as Agence France-Presse reported.
“Manas airbase is not irreplaceable. We are looking for alternatives,” Gates said. Besides, the U.S. ‘has not foreclosed the possibility’ that the base will remain open.
According to the U.S. Defense Secretary, the U.S. administration is analyzing ‘whether there is something they ought to do differently in terms of compensation’ for the base’s presence on Kyrgyz territory. However, the U.S. ‘is not prepared to stay there at any price’ Robert Gates informed.
