Kyrgyz president says Russian military will leave after pact expires

Kyrgyz President Almazbek Atambayev answers questions at his annual year-end press conference held in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, on Dec. 1, 2016. Kyrgyz President Almazbek Atambayev hosted his annual year-end press conference in Bishkek on Dec. 1. In the three-hour-long press conference, Atambayev reviewed his work in 2016 and answered more than 70 questions. (Xinhua/Roman)

BISHKEK, Dec. 1 -- Kyrgyz President Almazbek Atambayev said here Thursday that the Russian military will leave Kyrgyzstan after the related agreement expires.

Atambayev made the remark during his annual year-end press conference in Bishkek in response to reporters' questions on why the U.S. military base had been withdrawn and the Russian base remains.

"I think that we did absolutely the right thing with regard to the U.S. Ganci Air Base at the international airport in Bishkek. Five years have passed and time has shown that this was the right decision," he said, adding that it concerns the Russian air base as well.

"Kyrgyzstan must rely only on its own power in the future and needs to build its own army," the Kyrgyz president said.

After his election in 2011, Atambayev reportedly assured Moscow the U.S. air base would be closed.

He said that after the expiry of the agreement on the Russian base, it will also be withdrawn, adding the Russian leadership responded with understanding in this regard.

In July 2014, the United States withdrew its Ganci Air Base which it set up at Manas International Airport in the suburbs of Bishkek in 2001 for its war against Afghanistan. Meanwhile, the Russian air base at Kant town near Bishkek has been operating since October 2003.

Russia and Kyrgyzstan reportedly signed an agreement leasing the base to Russia for 15 years from January 2017 until 2032 in exchange for Moscow's writing off nearly half a billion U.S. dollars in debt owed by the Central Asian country. The agreement can be automatically extended for five years after its expiry.

"We will always be Russia's strategic partners, but Kyrgyzstan in the future must rely only on its own armed forces, not on the base of Russia, America or other countries. We must build our own army," Atambayev said.

During the three-hour-long press conference, Atambayev reviewed his work in 2016 and answered more than 70 questions.