BISHKEK (AFP) -- The United States and Kyrgyzstan signed a deal on the transit of non-military cargo to Afghanistan that will effectively keep open a U.S. air base Bishkek had ordered closed, officials said Tuesday.

Kyrgyzstan had troubled Washington by ordering the closure of the US airbase at Manas, a key transit point for operations in Afghanistan, at a time when US President Barack Obama was ordering an intensified campaign against the Taliban.
“The U.S. and Kyrgyzstan agreed on the opening of a centre for the transit of goods to Afghanistan at the Manas airport,” a source in the Kyrgyz government told AFP, confirming that an agreement had been signed on Monday.
The source added that the base -- which had previously been used for ferrying troops to Afghanistan and the refueling of military aircraft -- would from now on only be used for the transit of non-lethal goods.
“The status of the airbase has changed. It will now transport non-military cargo to Afghanistan,” the official said.
The agreement should be debated Tuesday by the Kyrgyz parliament ahead of ratification, the government source said, while parliament officials confirmed that it would examine the issue in an extraordinary session.
President Kurmanbek Bakiyev announced the decision to close the base in Moscow in February on the same day that Russia unveiled a huge aid package to the impoverished Central Asian country.
But Russia has always denied playing any role in Kyrgyzstan's decision to close the base. Bakiyev is widely expected to win a second term in elections set for July 23.
According to Kyrgyz officials, Afghan President Hamid Karzai recently appealed to Bakiyev to allow the U.S. base to remain open.
Many Kyrgyzstan watchers have long speculated that the government -- which consistently sent mixed signals on whether the closure was final -- had never intended to evict the base and was simply angling for more money.
Bishkek had complained that it was not receiving a competitive rent on the use of Manas, which also serves as the Central Asian state's international airport.
The base is used to ferry tens of thousands of troops in and out of Afghanistan each year and also hosts planes used for mid-air refueling of combat craft.
However with its change of status to a so-called “transit centre” for non-military goods it remains to be seen whether the base will operate as before or with a scaled-down function.
The loss of the base would have dealt a major blow to coalition military efforts in Afghanistan at a time when Obama has pledged to boost the campaign there against the Taliban.
The Manas base, operated by about 1,000 troops, including small French and Spanish contingents, was set up to support coalition forces fighting to oust the Taliban in Afghanistan in the wake of the September 11, 2001 attacks.