U.S. President Barack Obama is facing a tough challenge as he plans to send additional troops to Afghanistan.

On Wednesday, Kyrgyzstan's government asked parliament to approve the closure of a U.S. military air base which supplies U.S. led troops fighting in Afghanistan.

The U.S. State Department said by early Wednesday it had however still not been officially informed of the decision We have seen many statements in the media but we have not received any notification through the appropriate diplomatic channels on this. Spokesman Gordon Duguid said.

Moscow's airbase in Kyrgyzstan a few dozen kilometers away from Manas has been irritated by Manas's existence and has put pressure on Kyrgyzstan to close it saying it would offer support to the U.S, Reuters reported.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Grigory Karasin told reporters that they are ready to promptly back U.S in many ways, “We positively reacted to the request of the United States for the transit through Russia of goods and materials to Afghanistan. We will be flexible in many other ways which will support our joint success in Afghanistan... that would be the basic school of thinking from which we will proceed.

Recently, militants destroyed the main route into Afghanistan by blowing up a bridge in Pakistan this week and closing Washington's only military outpost in Central Asia would pose a challenge for U.S. supply lines in the region.

Many in Kyrgyzstan have criticized the existence of U.S. troops in their country, prompting Washington to explore possibilities in other parts of Central Asia.

According to U.S. officials, the Manas base is important but has assured that any decision to close it would not halt operations in Afghanistan.

Kyrgyzstan Russia Afghanistan Barack obama