Kyrgyzstan President Kurmanbek Bakiyev says he wants to increase rent 100 times for a military airbase used by the United States in the former Soviet republic.
Mr. Bakiyev told the Russian daily Kommersant that U.S. officials are paying $2 million for the base used to conduct operations in nearby Afghanistan. But he says new figures based on international norms show the payments should increase to $207 million.
Last month, Kyrgyz officials said they had advised the United States about the rent increase and called for talks on environmental concerns linked to the base.
The U.S. military has increased its use of the base since it was forced to leave a site in Uzbekistan, following U.S. criticism of alleged human rights violations by the Uzbek government.
Some information for this report was provided by AP and Reuters.