Kyrgyzstan seeks to join Russia, Kazakh customs union

Kyrgyzstan, a former Soviet republic bordering China, seeks to join the customs union of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan.

The Central Asian nation, which houses both Russian and U.S. military bases, sees itself “in a unified economic space” with Russia, Prime Minister Almazbek Atambayev told his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Monday in Moscow.

“Russia is our main strategic partner and there is no alternative to that,” Atambayev said. The United States uses Manas airbase near the capital, Bishkek, to support its operations in Afghanistan.

Atambayev said the country should revive plans for national pipeline operator Kyrgyzgas to work with Gazprom, Russia’s natural-gas export monopoly.

The Kyrgyz government agreed in 2008 to study letting Gazprom participate the sale of 75 percent in Kyrgyzgas, according to a memorandum signed at the time