Kyrgyz FM denies talks with U.S. on Manas air base

MOSCOW, March 27 -- Kyrgyz Foreign Minister Kadyrbek Sarbayev on Friday denied reports that Kyrgyzstan has invited the United States to discuss retaining the Manas air base outside Bishkek.

Kyrgyzstan did not negotiate with the United States on the Manas base, Sarbayev was quoted by Itar-Tass news agency as saying in Moscow, where he was attending an international conference on Afghanistan.

A senior U.S. official said here earlier in the day that the United States had received an offer from Kyrgyzstan to continue talks over the Manas base which serves as a key logistic center for the U.S.-led operations in Afghanistan.

Sarbayev said on Thursday that his country was not considering the possibility of U.S. troops' returning to the Manas air base.

Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev signed on Feb. 20 a decree to officially shut the Manas air base after the Kyrgyz parliament voted overwhelmingly in favor of the closure.

The U.S. military are required to remove its soldiers and equipment out of the base in six months once it is notified by the Kyrgyz government.

The United States began using the Manas base shortly after it launched anti-terror operations in Afghanistan following the Sept.11, 2001, terrorist attacks.