DUSHANBE, Feb 20: The United States said on Friday it had found new Central Asian routes for sending supplies for expanded military operations in Afghanistan after Kyrgyzstan refused to reverse its closure of a key base.

US Rear Admiral Mark Harnitchek said Tajikistan and Uzbekistan have agreed to the transit of non-lethal US supplies for troops in Afghanistan, after meeting Tajik officials in Dushanbe.

His comments came as Kyrgyzstan officially informed the United States of its decision to close the Manas air base that the United States has used as a crucial supply hub for Afghanistan since 2001.

“Tajikistan has given its agreement to the use of its rail and automobile routes for the transit of non-lethal supplies to Afghanistan,” Harnitchek was quoted as saying by Tajik television.

He said that Uzbekistan had also “agreed” to the transit and Washington planned to send 50-200 containers weekly from Uzbekistan into Tajikistan and then by land into neighbouring Afghanistan.

Harnitchek, who spoke after a meeting with Tajik Foreign Minister Hamrokhon Zarifi, is the latest top US official to pass through on a region increasing in strategic importance as the West steps up its Afghan operations.

“Any country that borders Afghanistan is very important for us. But Tajikistan is particularly important because it’s the shortest distance from our bases in Afghanistan,” he declared.

The spokeswoman for the US embassy in Dushanbe, Jackie McKennan, emphasised after his comments that “no formal agreement has been signed” between the sides.

“He (Harnitchek) is on a working visit, just reviewing the infrastructure.

Nothing formal has been concluded today.” The Uzbek foreign ministry in Tashkent declined to comment on whether it had approved the transit across its territory.—AFP