BISHKEK -- Kyrgyz President Almazbek Atambaev has said the Russian military will have to leave its base in Kyrgyzstan in the future.
At an annual press conference in Bishkek on December 1, Atambaev said Kyrgyzstan has to rely on its own armed forces without any foreign military bases on its territory.
Kyrgyzstan and Russian agreed in 2012 to extend a lease on the Russian military air base at Kant, near Bishkek, by 15 years, starting next year.
Kyrgyzstan's previous leadership had agreed to extend the lease by 49 years.
Atambaev also said a decision to close the U.S. military transit installation in the Manas International Airport, near the Kyrgyz capital, in 2014 was "a right decision."