Germany's air base in Uzbekistan is now used only as a backup facility and is manned by a minimal crew, the German ambassador to Tashkent has said.

That news comes less than a year after Uzbekistan succeeded in raising the rent for the base to 35 million Euros a year, from a previous 10 to 15 million. Uzbekistan has operated the base, at Termez on the border with Afghanistan, since February 2002 as a rear logistics base for its military mission in Afghanistan. 

"At the current time Termez serves primarily as a reserve airfield and isn't used actively," said Neithart Höfer-Wissing in an interview with news website ca-news.org. "All particpants were aware from the start that our deployment to Termez wouldn't last longer than the military presence of the Bundeswehr in Afghanistan." Germany's combat mission in Afghanistan ended in December 2014.

While the base has in the past been manned by around 300 German troops, it now is maintained only by "the core team," Höfer-Wissing said.

News on the German base is rare, and the last time we heard about it was in April, when German media reported that Uzbekistan was trying to raise the rent again, to 72.5 million Euros annually. Höfer-Wissing was asked about the terms of the current agreement, and he declined to comment. So is Germany paying 35 million Euros, or more, for a base it doesn't use?