New Kyrgyz rulers hail Russia, aim to shut U.S. base

[ftwspursfan]

I'm putting this in the Gog/Magog forum because it appears to be another instance where Russia is consolidating power in Central Asia. Very Gog-ish!

By Maria Golovnina and Dmitry Solovyov Maria Golovnina And Dmitry Solovyov – 59 mins ago

BISHKEK (Reuters) – Kyrgyzstan's self-proclaimed new leadership said on Thursday that Russia had helped to oust President Kurmanbek Bakiyev, and that they aimed to close a U.S. airbase that has irritated Moscow.

Their comments set Wednesday's overthrow of Bakiyev, who fled the capital Bishkek as crowds stormed government buildings, firmly in the context of superpower rivalry in central Asia.

No sooner had presidents Barack Obama and Dmitry Medvedev signed an arms reduction pact in Prague as part of an effort to "reset" strained relations than a senior official in Medvedev's delegation urged Kyrgyzstan's new rulers to shut the base.

The official, who declined to be named, noted that Bakiyev had not fulfilled a promise to shut the Manas airbase, which the United States uses to supply NATO troops in Afghanistan. He said there should be only one base in Kyrgyzstan -- a Russian one.

more at New Kyrgyz rulers hail Russia, aim to shut U.S. base - Yahoo! News

[Sean Osborne]

As mentioned in other threads on this Forum... Gog/Magog are on the move.