In Washington, AKIpress asked Roza Otunbayeva about reports on negotiations for new bases in Kyrgyzstan. She said that there are no plans for a new Russian base in Osh, and to the question of a Chinese base, gave this wonderful answer, “Listen, two bases is enough for us. What should we do, collect bases?”
She did mention that the possibility of relocating US troops from K2 did come up in discussions with the Department of Defense and Senate.
Even in the U.S. Ministry of defense, where we were today [on June 15], I was asked on the accuracy of today’s clause in “Washington Post,” where is said that the military base of USA in Uzbekistan is under question. The fact is that, that we do not conduct any conversations … I was asked later in Senate, whether we will be ready to accept (U.S. soldiers), if Uzbekistan will curtail base. I do not discuss such questions quickly. It is a complex question. There is a Ministry of defense, there are others. All of us should think, decide etc.
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Nathan Hamm – author of 2040 posts on Registan.net.
Nathan founded Registan.net in 2003. He was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Uzbekistan 2000-2001 and received his MA in Central Asian Studies from the University of Washington in 2007. Since 2007, he has worked full-time as an analyst, consulting with clients on Central Asian affairs, specializing in how socio-cultural factors shape risks and opportunities. Follow him on Twitter or drop him a line.