Kyrgyz Defense Minister Ismail Isakov told a press conference in Bishkek on 26 July that the U.S. air base in Kyrgyzstan will remain until the situation in Afghanistan normalizes, RFE/RL\'s Kyrgyz Service reported. Isakov was speaking after a meeting with U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, who is on a three-day trip to Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. Isakov later told RFE/RL\'s Kyrgyz Service: \"In reality, there is no reason to say that the [security] situation has improved. The terrorist attacks in London, Egypt, and also in Afghanistan itself prove that. That is why only after the situation has improved, this issue [U.S. withdrawal from the Ganci air base at Bishkek\'s Manas airport] will be considered by the two sides in accordance with agreements between Kyrgyzstan and the United States only.\" Rumsfeld also met with Kyrgyz President-elect Kurmanbek Bakiev in Bishkek on 26 July, congratulating him on his recent election to the presidency and promising to support Kyrgyzstan \"on its path to democracy and a market economy.\" (RFE/RL)