ALA-ARCHA (Kyrgyzstan), Feb 11: Kyrgyzstan’s president accused the United States on Wednesday of refusing to heed repeated calls to pay more rent for its air base in his country, but did not say if he would welcome a fresh US offer.

President Kurmanbek Bakiyev said last week he would evict US forces from Manas, an important staging post for operations in Afghanistan. He made the announcement in Moscow after securing more than $2 billion in Russian aid and credit.

The impoverished former Soviet republic has yet to say when the base would be officially shut, leading some observers to suggest it may still reverse the decision.

In his first public address since his Moscow trip, Bakiyev said he had long appealed on Washington to raise the rent to help his impoverished state cope with difficult economic times.

“We have no political disagreements with the United States.

It’s all about the financial element of the question,” he told reporters at his official residence outside the capital Bishkek.

“Over the last three years I have personally raised this question with (top US officials). I have always said to them: ‘We have to review the terms of our agreement. Prices have changed and Kyrgyzstan is in a difficult financial situation’.

“And they always replied: ‘Okay, Okay, Okay, Okay.” They repeated that for years. But how long can one wait? We are a sovereign nation. We must have some respect for ourselves.”

The US says negotiations are still continuing and has expressed hope Kyrgyzstan may still change its mind. Bakiyev’s office, however, has said the decision is final.

The US government pays $17.4 million a year for use of the base. Its total assistance to Kyrgyzstan is $150 million a year.

The United States embassy in Bishkek said it was not authorised to comment on matters surrounding the base. Officials in Washington were not immediately available for comment.

At Wednesday’s news conference, during which Western media were not allowed to ask questions, Bakiyev steered clear of any specifics on the future of the US air base. “I do not think our relations with the West would deteriorate,” he said without elaborating.

Closing Manas would pose a problem for US President Barack Obama, who plans to send additional troops to Afghanistan to boost NATO efforts to defeat Taliban. The base is used to help deliver supplies into Afghanistan, a crucial task at a time when its main supply route from Pakistan is under pressure from militant attacks.—Reuters