Word: moscow
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...those who toppled the Kyrgyzstan government on Wednesday decide to evict the U.S. military in the days to come, the current surge of U.S. troops into Afghanistan will be slowed, but it won't be stopped. Those who have taken power, many of them friendly to Moscow, didn't like how the U.S. dealt with Bakiyev during lease-renewal negotiations last spring, believing that the Obama Administration had legitimized an autocratic regime. Still, the country appreciated the increased rent - from $17 million to $63 million annually - as well as a U.S. pledge to spend a further $67 million improving...
...Russia's influence is extensive in the former Soviet republic, and Moscow has been irritated by the U.S. presence in what it calls its "near abroad" - former Soviet territories - since the U.S. began operations at Manas in 2001. In Moscow in February 2009, perhaps spurred by the offer of a $2 billion loan from Russia, Bakiyev publicly complained that the U.S. wasn't paying enough for its use of the base. That same month, the Kyrgyz parliament voted to end the U.S. presence, though ultimately the lease was renewed with the hefty rent increase. (Read a brief history of Kyrgyzstan...
...Thursday, April 8, to Roza Otunbayeva, the opposition leader now in command of the impoverished Central Asian state. He promised her financial aid, legitimacy and a "special relationship" with the Kremlin, and she gladly accepted. The move was significant: it seems clear now that Kyrgyzstan will quickly return to Moscow's sphere of influence after months of strained relations with Russia, making the U.S. military presence in the country all the more precarious...
...Moscow, however, has been less forthright on the matter. On Wednesday, Putin staunchly denied any involvement in the unrest. "Not Russia, not your humble servant. Russian officials have nothing to do with these events," Putin said. Yet he went on to chastise the Bakiyev government for "stepping on the same rakes" as the corrupt leadership it had itself deposed in 2005. On Thursday, Putin made it even clearer which government he preferred. "Due to the special relationship between our two countries, Russia always has provided the necessary humanitarian aid to the people of Kyrgyzstan and is ready to continue providing...
Bakiyev replaced Akayev with a stated agenda of reforming the country and ending corruption, but did little to act on those promises. His regime continued an earlier practice of playing foreign powers against each other - accepting lavish handouts from both Washington and Moscow to accommodate their military installations on its soil, while also tying up lucrative infrastructure projects with Chinese state companies. Yet, by some estimates, half of Kyrgyzstan's economy is tied to the black market; there are signs also of deepening links with organized crime and drug running from Afghanistan and Tajikistan. International monitors questioned the fairness...