Russia would pay off its debts to Kyrgyzstan for the Russian military facilities based in the country by March, the Defense Ministry said Monday.

Russia would transfer the 15 million U.S. dollars by the end of February, according to Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov.

Under the agreement between Moscow and Bishkek, the annual rent for the military bases in Kyrgyzstan is 4.5 million dollars, said Serdyukov, adding that until 2008 Russia paid the rent by supplying Kyrgyzstan with arms and equipment, servicing of arms and personnel training.

However, in 2008-2010 Russia canceled the military goods delivery due to political turmoil in Kyrgyzstan, which has led to the debt forming, explained the minister.

Kyrgyz President Almazbek Atambayev complained to Russian media earlier that Russia failed to pay the debts and did not meet its obligations of helping training Kyrgyz pilots.

Russia maintains in Kyrgyzstan several military facilities, including a long-range communication station, a torpedo testing range and a seismic recording station.