ALMATY, July 4 (Xinhua) -- Kyrgyz Foreign Minister Alikbek Jekshenkulov on Tuesday said his country hopes to quickly reach an agreement with the United States on raising the lease terms on the U.S. airbase in Kyrgyzstan, reports reaching here from Bishkek said.

    When meeting with Marie Yovanovitch, the U.S. ambassador in Bishkek, Jekshenkulov said the rent and usage fees for the airbase as set in the initial agreement is too low, which is not in line with the national development interests of the central Asian country.

    A quick settlement of the issue will help solidify bilateral relations and facilitate the airbase to play an active role in safeguarding peace and security in the central Asian region, Jekshenkulov said.

    For his part, Yovanovitch said the United States will soon resume negotiations with Kyrgyzstan on this issue, adding the United States still has to study the new terms.

    Kyrgyzstan has sought to increase revenues from the U.S.-led base set up in December 2001 at Kyrgyzstan's Manas international airport near the capital Bishkek. Now some 1,500 soldiers from the United States and its NATO allies are stationed in the facility, which is used as a transit point for troops going to or coming from Afghanistan.

    In April, Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev threatened to expel U.S. troops if Washington does not agree by June 1 to pay more for stationing forces in the military base. The two countries negotiated in early June, but Washington refused Kyrgyz demand for raising the rent to 200 million U.S. dollars per year. Enditem