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Talks on Russian military base to start after Kyrgyz polls - Lavrov

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Russia will start negotiations on the status of its military facilities in Kyrgyzstan only after parliamentary elections in the Central Asian republic, the Russian foreign minister said on Thursday.

Russia will start negotiations on the status of its military facilities in Kyrgyzstan only after parliamentary elections in the Central Asian republic, the Russian foreign minister said on Thursday.

"Let's wait until the elections in Kyrgyzstan, until a new, permanent rather than interim, government is formed in the country," Sergei Lavrov told reporters after a meeting with his Canadian counterpart, Lawrence Cannon.

"We are ready for these talks. It is important that the Kyrgyz side is ready as well," Lavrov said.

The Kyrgyz interim government came to power in April amid large-scale opposition protests that overthrew former president Kurmanbek Bakiyev. Bakiyev fled the country and has taken refuge in Belarus.

Kyrgyz President Roza Otunbayeva has set parliamentary elections in the country for October 10.

Kyrgyzstan hosts four Russian military facilities, including the airbase in the city of Kant, some 20 kilometers (12 miles) outside the capital, Bishkek, a naval training and research center at Lake Issyk-Kul, as well as two seismic facilities in the Issyk-Kul and Jalalabad regions used for monitoring global nuclear tests.

Russia pays Kyrgyzstan $4.5 million annually for the rent of its military facilities, which occupy a total area of 866 hectares.

During Kurmanbek Bakiyev's presidency, Moscow and Bishkek discussed the issue of combining all Russian military facilities in Kyrgyzstan into a United Russian Military Base.

A memorandum was signed by Bakiyev and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev in August 2009. It stipulated the opening of a Russian training center for Russian and Kyrgyz soldiers and the deployment of up to 500 additional soldiers in the Central Asian republic.

However, the talks on the Russian base came to a halt after Bakiyev was overthrown and fled the country.

Current Defense Minister Abibilla Kudaiberdiyev earlier said Russian-Kyrgyz talks on the status and terms of the proposed United Russian Military Base could be completed by March 2011.

MOSCOW, September 16 (RIA Novosti)

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