Clinton also addressed a growing controversy in Kyrgyzstan, where the US stands to lose a key air base critical to the Afghan occupation. The Kyrgyz government has announced it’s closing the Manas Air Base because of public opposition and a US refusal to pay a higher fee.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton: “It’s regrettable that this is under consideration by the government of Kyrgyzstan, and we hope to have further discussions with them, but we will proceed in a very effective manner, no matter what the outcome of the Kyrgyzstan government’s deliberations might be.”

Pentagon officials say the US is now considering resuming military cooperation with Uzbekistan because of the potential air base loss.