Kyrgyzstan Ends Lease of USA Military Base, as Russia Promises more Aid

Russia’s Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu announced that Russia is going to start sending $1 billion in weapons to Kyrgyzstan this year, as part of a bilateral armed forces assistance program. This announcement appears to be an acceleration of earlier plans. On June 25th, Shoigu Moscow said Russia would begin supplying weapons and other military equipment to Kyrgyzstan in 2014. Just a few days before Shoigu’s announcement, on June 3rd, Kyrgyzstan government agreed it would sell its shares in the Soviet-legacy Dastan torpedo factory to Russian investors. Kommersant, Russian newspaper, reported that the Kyrgyzstan government’s spokesperson said Russian investors would be…