Kyrgyzstan has confirmed that it will close a US air base on its soil, cutting a main supply route to US-led forces in Afghanistan.

Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev said in Moscow on Tuesday that his country was shutting down Manas air base, which US and NATO forces have been using to route troops and supplies into Afghanistan.

"[We have] made the decision on ending the term for the American base on the territory of Kyrgyzstan," Bakiyev said during a Tuesday press conference with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev in Moscow.

The Kyrgz president explained that the closure was because the two sides had not agreed on the "economic support" the US would provide Kyrgyzstan in exchange for its presence in the country.

"We have discussed many times the issue of economic support to Kyrgyzstan for housing them. But unfortunately we did not reach an understanding with the United States," he said.

"We have been saying that we must reexamine the conditions of this agreement for three years already, but those questions of economic support don't meet our requirements in any way," he added.

Russia has announced that it would provide the Central Asian nation with two billion US dollars in loans and another 150 million in financial aid.

The US set up Manas in Kyrgyzstan near the capital Bishkek and a base in neighboring Uzbekistan around seven years ago. Uzbekistan, however, expelled US troops in 2005 over human rights issues, leaving Manas the only US military facility in the region.

The decision to shut Manas will deliver a blow to Washington, as the new president plans a troop surge into Afghanistan. At this time, US and NATO supply routes in Pakistan are also coming under an increasing number of attacks.

Bakiyev's announcement came despite repeated denials by US officials who said that Kyrgyzstan would not close the base. The most recent rejection came even after the Tuesday developments in Moscow, as the commander of US forces in Afghanistan and Iraq, General David Petraeus, dismissed reports that Manas will be closed.

Petraeus, who visited Kyrgyzstan last month, said that a possible closure was not at all discussed. He added that Washington pays about $63 million a year to use the base.

MJ/JG/AA