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Reuters. 28 December 2001. Uzbek Leader Says No Deadline for U.S. Pullout. TASHKENT -- Uzbek President Islam Karimov said on Friday he had set no deadline for U.S. troops to pull out of a military base in his country used for U.S. operations in neighboring Afghanistan. Speaking after a regional leaders' meeting on security issues, Karimov said the Central Asian states would themselves decide how long U.S. troops remained on their territory. Talk of Russian concerns about a U.S. military presence in its former "backyard" smacked of "the stereotypes of old," Karimov said after meeting the presidents of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. "All these questions will be decided on the basis of the interests of each individual state and the situation that arises in one region or another. I think I speak for everyone." Karimov has allowed the Khanabad airbase in the south of the country to be used by the United States, which now has an estimated 1,500 personnel stationed there. Uzbekistan stipulated that it be used only for humanitarian operations in Afghanistan, and Tashkent says the base has not been used for bombing missions. "We have had no negotiations with the Americans on the issue of how many years they will use Khanabad base," Karimov said. Kazakhstan, which has no border with Afghanistan, has opened its airspace to U.S. warplanes, while Kyrgyzstan has agreed to allow U.S. and French aircraft use Bishkek's Manas airport. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Barry Stoller http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ProletarianNews ==^================================================================ This email was sent to: archive@jab.org EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.a9WB2D Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^================================================================
