President Kurmanbek Bakiyev's demand of a new accord concerning presence of the AF base of the counter-terrorism coalition in Kyrgyzstan essentially amounts to an ultimatum. Washington is given until June 1 to have the new accord drafted and signed or the Kyrgyz authorities will annul the existing accord unilaterally.

Text of Bakiyev's statement is available here.

The US Embassy released the following statement in response:

"The United States is prepared to complete the negotiations with the authorities of Kyrgyzstan over the use of the AF base of the counter-terrorism coalition as soon as possible. In the more than four years of its existence the AF base in Kyrgyzstan has contributed a great deal to the war on terrorism in Afghanistan and to regional security... Continuation of interaction to root out terrorism in the region is in the interests of the United States and Kyrgyzstan."

The AF base was established in Manas international airport in December 2001 with the UN mandate and within the framework of the counter-terrorism coalition running a military operation in Afghanistan. The base for military transports is manned by about 1,000 American servicemen.