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U.S. Defence Secretary Rumsfeld Arrives in Kyrgyzstan
Friday, April 26, 2002
l'Agence France-Presse (AFP)

BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan
US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld arrived in the Kyrgyz capital Bishkek on Friday at the start of a four-day tour of Central Asia taking in Afghanistan and other key partners in the war on terror, Kyrgyz television reported.

Rumsfeld landed in Bishkek at 0930 GMT and immediately headed to the former Soviet republic's Manas air base, where 1,500 US-led troops are currently deployed.

The defence secretary, who is expected to hold talks on Saturday with Kyrgyz President Askar Akayev before flying on to Afghanistan, will also visit Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan.

Rumsfeld is due to meet his Russian counterpart Sergei Ivanov in Moscow on Monday, the final leg of his whistle-stop tour.
(More: The Hindustan Times News Source)
2002 © l'Agence France-Presse (AFP).

Dan