CSTO head Nikolay Bordyuzha was asked during a visit to Kazakhstan today whether there might soon be a U.S. base in that country, and unsurprisingly he said that wasn't necessary. More surprisingly, he praised the presence of Manas in Kyrgyzstan. Via Gazeta.kz:

Answering the question of possibility of creation in the territory of Kazakhstan of the military base similar to the air base Manas in Kyrgyzstan, N. Bordyuzha said that it is inexpedient. The base Manas accomplishes specific important tasks. It serves the groups in Afghanistan that work to maintain stability in Afghanistan, struggle against Talibs. It is an important goal. I do not think we need another base," he noted.

Add this to the list of counterintuitive statements Bordyuzha has made about the situation in Kyrgyzstan. Today in Kazakhstan, he also said that the CSTO's peacekeeping forces "will start their joint combat training in the near future," and didn't mention anything about any CSTO bases, in Kyrgyzstan or elsewhere. Might this be part of the secret plan for Russia to become more pro-Western? Or is it, as Stephen Blank wrote yesterday in EurasiaNet, a means of "snookering" the international community?