CHOLPON-ATA /KYRGYZSTAN/, July 24. /TASS/. The US airbase in Kyrgyzstan cased a major threat to the republic’s security, President Almazbek Atambayev told a news conference on Monday.

"To be honest, some countries warned us they were ready, if necessary, to use missiles against the US airbase, which Kyrgyzstan hosted," he said. The situation continued to 2014, when the base was removed from the country, he added. "To that time, our people were under a major threat."

That was one of the reasons why Kyrgyzstan decided to close the US airbase, which was at the airport in Bishkek since 2001 and served for support of NATO’s mission in Afghanistan, he continued.

Kyrgyzstan had signed an agreement with Russia to host its airbase, the president said. However, the new agreement with Russia reads the term of hosting the Russian military is "cut from 74 to 15 years."