It seems like every few weeks, another story comes along saying that Kyrgyzstan is raising the fees for the US use of the Ganci/Manas airbase. After General Abizaid’s visit yesterday, Kyrgyzstan says the US will be paying more.
“The air base is no longer a pressing issue. We are drafting a new agreement requiring the U.S. to pay more. Prices have risen manifold since the air base was relocated in Kyrgyzstan,” the Kyrgyz president said.
“The U.S. must pay for each square meter at world prices,” he said.
Ummm, okay, it’s all about inflation and the rising value of real estate on the international market.
The exact deal will be worked out on Friday.
At a joint press conference with Prime Minister Feliks Kulov today, Bakiev said a U.S. commission will arrive in Bishkek on 4 November to negotiate a new agreement on the use of the Ganci Air Base at Manas Airport.
At Jamestown, Roger McDermott discusses this situation and Kyrgyz military cooperation with other states. He interprets the Kyrgyz position as a sign that the base’s future is secure even if the terms are not.
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Nathan Hamm – author of 2974 posts on Registan.net.
Nathan is the Founding Editor and Publisher of Registan.net, which he launched 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 private and government clients on Central Asian affairs, specializing in how socio-cultural and political factors shape risks and opportunities and how organizations can adjust their strategic and operational plans to account for these variables. Nathan is currently seeking research, analysis, and consulting opportunities. He can be contacted via Twitter or email.
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As long as they’re not bumbling or reneging (anymore), I say more power to them. Free market economics, right? The demand is high, the supply is low.
And $190 per ton of fuel dumped over their country is a pittance. It’s $15,200 for the 80 tons we already dumped (seems silly to even argue over such small sums), although I imagine this just just the tip of the iceberg.
Whatever the cost, for us it’s not that much money, and the benefit is that the more money that gets paid, the more that they’ll depend on it… and less likely they’ll want to go without it in the future.
Ya, but bad for them down the road.
I don’t mind the higher payments, it just seems like these negotiations are neverending.
Yeah, I suppose, on both counts. On the flip side I think these things can (and perhaps should) not be rushed. The Futenma airbase on Okinawa has been undergoing negotiations on its relocation for a decade now.
Technically, it reminds me the almost the same process with K-2 well before Andijan (fuel, new agreement, etc.). Though there is difference: first case was behind the scene and Manas “on air”..