A good deal in Kyrgyzstan
NOBODY is disappointed, and all sides get what they need. That definition of a good deal fits the recent agreement to renew the US leasing of an air base in Kyrgyzstan that serves as a key transport hub for troops and equipment going to Afghanistan.
Kyrgyzstan will receive $60 million a year, three times the previous rent, and the US military will retain a convenient way station for supplies and air-refueling operations. But beyond its logistical value, the base deal also says something encouraging about President Obama’s plan to “reset’’ US-Russian relations. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin may want to reciprocate.
Kyrgyzstan’s President Kurmanbek Bakiyev said in February that he was terminating the US lease of the airfield just after the Kremlin promised him a package of aid and credits worth $2 billion. This was a warning that Russia can become prickly about its regional backyard - unless Obama allays certain Russian national-security concerns.
When Medvedev praised the air-base deal as a gesture that will “help the joint effort of fighting terrorism,’’ he was conveying a positive message before his upcoming meeting next month with Obama. He was evoking the potential for cooperation.
In return, Medvedev and Putin will want assurances that Georgia and Ukraine are not placed on a fast track to NATO membership. And they will ask for cancellation or reconfiguration of a flawed missile-defense system that the Bush administration wanted to deploy in Poland and the Czech Republic. These are concessions Obama should be willing to make - in exchange for meaningful Russian cooperation in persuading Iran to forgo its pursuit of nuclear weapons. That would be a really valuable deal. 