Kyrgyzstan moves to shut US air base

Kyrgyzstan's government submitted a draft bill to parliament yesterday that would close a US base that is key to the American military campaign in Afghanistan.

The move came a day after President Kurmanbek Bakiyev said the base would be shuttered and shortly after the Central Asian nation secured billions of dollars in loans and aid from Russia, which resents the American presence in a country that Moscow regards as part of its traditional sphere of influence.

The possibility poses a serious challenge to the new US administration and President Barack Obama's plan to send up to 30,000 more American forces into Afghanistan this year.