WASHINGTON, October 12 (RIA Novosti, Arkady Orlov) -The United States and Kyrgyzstan are in favor of maintaining an American military presence in the Central Asian republic until the counter-terrorism operation in Afghanistan is completed, according to a joint statement signed by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
"We support the presence of Coalition Forces in the Kyrgyz Republic until the mission of fighting terrorism in Afghanistan is completed, a mission supported by the United Nations," said the statement, which Rice signed during her Tuesday visit to Kyrgyzstan.
"In this regard, the Government of the Kyrgyz Republic recognizes the important contribution of the international anti-terrorist Coalition, located at the Ganci Airbase, in strengthening regional stability," the statement said referring to the base near Manas international airport outside the capital, Bishkek.
The document also said that the U.S. and Kyrgyz governments expressed "their readiness to review the transparency of investments made for the use of the Manas Airport and at the same time to discuss other organizational and technical questions."
