Will the US pull out of Kyrgyzstan?

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Will the US pull out of Kyrgyzstan? - News - World - The Voice of Russia: News, Breaking news, Politics, Economics, Business, Russia, International current events, Expert opinion, podcasts, Video

The Manas base's removal has put Bishkek between the devil and the blue. On the one hand, the Kyrgyz budget will lose $200 million in annual lease payments, while on the other hand, Kyrgyzstan is a member of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) and the extension of the lease would clash with CSTO principles. Moscow has promised aid in bolstering Kyrgyzstan's defense capacity, but Moscow's aid, it appears at the moment, seems less attractive to Kyrgyzstan than US cash injections, Grigory Trofimchuk, Vice President of the Center for Strategic Development Modeling, told the Voice of Russia.

What Russia can do to prevent the deployment of US missile defense systems in Kyrgyzstan is to raise its Asian partners' awareness about the threats of American military presence in the region, he said.

"Bishkek wouldn't mind receiving money both from Moscow and Washington. A lesser spoken of, though very important strategic factor is that the southern segment of the US missile defense will be targeted not only against Russia but also against China. So it's not just Moscow's concern, but also Beijing's. Moreover, China has its own political and economic interests in Kyrgyzstan and Central Asia".

The US will hardly find a better place to keep an eye on Russia than Kyrgyzstan, said Konstantin Bogdanov, a military observer at the RIA Novosti news agency.

"The Americans are seeking to deploy missile defense infrastructure in Kyrgyzstan or other parts of Central Asia for a whole number of reasons. First, it will enable them to watch missile launch tests at Russia's Kapustin Yar and Balkhash shooting ranges, the latter still being used as a test ground for Russian anti-missile weapons. The latest maneuvering warheads to be installed on Russian missiles will be test-fired from Kapustin Yar to Balkhash, which makes Kyrgyzstan a convenient observation point."

Naturally, Russia, smelling potential danger to its military infrastructure in South Siberia and Kazakhstan, will take steps to resist the expansion of American presence in Kyrgyzstan.

It's naïve to expect America to be guided by altruistic motives. Many of its former allies were made fool of or ruined. Either Kyrgyzstan chooses a closer rapprochement with Moscow, which would be better for it from all points of view, or it risks being completely destabilized.

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