BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan — Kyrgyzstan’s president-elect said today that the U.S. air base needs to close by 2014 because its presence on Kyrgyz soil puts this former Soviet nation at risk of retaliatory strikes from those in conflict with the United States.

Almazbek Atambayev, who won over 60 percent of ballots in Sunday’s vote, said Kyrgyzstan will honor a contract allowing the U.S. lease of the base at Manas through mid-2014.

The United States has used Manas, which is situated within the country’s main civilian airport, as a key logistical hub for operations in nearby Afghanistan since 2001.

Manas remains the only U.S. military outpost in the volatile region after the eviction of another U.S. base from authoritarian Uzbekistan in 2005 over Washington’s criticism of a brutal crackdown on protesters by Uzbek government forces.