Foreign Correspondence

[Amaunet]

U.S. will withdraw troops from Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan at republics' request: expert


A game within a game…

The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), an alliance grouping Russia, China and central Asian countries on Tuesday called for the US-led anti-terrorist coalition in Afghanistan to set a time frame for withdrawing its forces from member states.
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The United States is refusing to give legitimacy to the SCO even though the SCO by its nature has more authenticity than NATO in Asia.

The United States could withdraw its military bases from Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan at the request of these republics rather then the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.

Kyrgyzstan has now called for a withdrawal date.

Kyrgyzstan's top diplomat, acting Foreign Minister Roza Otunbayeva, on Wednesday called once again for the U.S. to set a date for withdrawing troops based in Central Asia in support of coalition forces in Afghanistan, and said she didn't believe the demand would damage relations.

-Am


20:05

MOSCOW, July 6 (RIA Novosti) - The United States could withdraw its military bases from Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan at the request of these republics rather then the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO asks.

"The SCO's demands for the Americans to set the deadline for their troops' withdrawal from Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan obviously reveals a clash between the organization and American interests," said Konstantin Zatulin, the chairman of the CIS affairs committee of the State Duma, the lower house of parliament.

According to Zatulin, the SCO unites five Eurasian states and China, and the demand above all showed that Russia and China were not happy about the American presence in the center of Eurasia. The expert said the situation was not particularly advantageous for America.

"If the countries where American troops are deployed put forward these demands, on what grounds can Americans extend their stay there?" asked Zatulin.

However, the expert said the U.S. would insist its presence in the region was essential in efforts to combat terrorism and drug trafficking.

"Judging by what happened in Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, those military bases' presence has not had a positive influence on stability in the republics," Zatulin said. "I believe their presence has not helped reduce drug trafficking or the number of terrorist organizations in the region," he said.

"Moreover, America's 'flirting' with organizations like the Muslim Brothers is reminiscent of Cold War times, when America established the radical Taliban movement. This is a double-edged sword that can injure its owner," said the member of parliament.

Zatulin said the withdrawal was possible if Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan, not the SCO, demanded it. When President Islam Karimov imposed restrictions on U.S. aircraft flights in Uzbekistan's airspace, American pilots had to respect the decision, he said.

The SCO leaders adopted a declaration at their meeting in Astana, Kazakhstan, on July 5. "Given that the intensive military phase of the antiterrorist operation in Afghanistan is over, the SCO member states believe it is necessary that members of the international antiterrorism coalition determ
http://en.rian.ru/world/20050706/40856432.html



Kyrgyzstan repeats claim for U.S. troops pullout

18:25 2005-07-06
The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) wants to counteract the USA's supremacy in the world. At the meeting in Kazakhstan yesterday the leaders of the SCO member-countries called for the U.S.-led anti-terror coalition in Afghanistan to set a time frame for withdrawing its forces from member states. The claim has already raised concerns in the U.S., but Kyrgyzstan decided it was not enough and repeated the claim.

Kyrgyzstan's top diplomat, acting Foreign Minister Roza Otunbayeva, on Wednesday called once again for the U.S. to set a date for withdrawing troops based in Central Asia in support of coalition forces in Afghanistan, and said she didn't believe the demand would damage relations.

Otunbayeva told reporters she believed the situation in Afghanistan had stabilized to such a degree that it merited asking how long the forces would remain.

"The question we're posing is what is the term of presence," Otunbayeva said.

"We have put forward quite reasonable questions and I don't think our relations (with the United States) should be damaged," she said.

According to the AP, about 2,000 U.S. service members are deployed at air bases in Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, according to the U.S. military. Another 200 French personnel are deployed at an air force base in Tajikistan.

The United States rejected the call for a deadline. U.S. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said the U.S. military presence "is determined by the terms of our bilateral agreements, under which both countries have concluded that there is a benefit to both sides from our activities."

At the U.S. Defense Department, spokesman Lawrence Di Rita said that regarding U.S. bases in Uzbekistan, "it's a decision the Uzbek government has to make as to whether or not we would continue to operate from that."

Otunbayeva refused to say when the Kyrgyz leadership wanted the U.S. troops to leave.

Otunbayeva also said that Kyrgyzstan was seeking a balanced decision regarding Uzbek asylum seekers who fled a violent crackdown in the eastern Uzbek city of Andijan on May 13. The country has been under enormous pressure from authorities in neighboring Uzbekistan to turn over more than 400 Uzbek residents that crossed the border after the crackdown.

The West has urged Kyrgyzstan's new leadership to fulfill its international obligations to treat asylum seekers properly.

"We'll do everything to get out of this situation with dignity and in dialogue with Uzbekistan and the international community," Otunbayeva said.

Uzbek authorities say some of the asylum seekers committed crimes in Uzbekistan.

AP


http://newsfromrussia.com/world/2005/07/06/60537.html