The decision to close a key US air force base on the borders of Afghanistan is final, Kyrgyzstan said today.

KYRGYZSTAN’S government submitted a draft bill to parliament yesterday that would close a US base that is key to the American military campaign in Afghanistan.

US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld won assurances from top government officials today that American forces face no near-term deadline for withdrawing from an air base near the Kyrgyzstan capital Bishkek that they use to support combat and humanitarian aid in Afghanistan.