Replies to post #8770 on Foreign Correspondence

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Kyrgyzstan 'on verge' of civil war


Ousted Kyrgyz president Kurmanbek Bakiyev speaks during a news
conference in Teyyit yesterday. He said he could resign if the interim
government guaranteed his safety. Photograph: Denis Sinyakov/Reuters

Related
* Kyrgyz president 'offers to resign', 13/04/2010
* Kyrgyzstan interim leader vows to prevent civil war, 10/04/2010
* Superpowers seek influence on Kyrgyzstan, 10/04/2010
* Capital left looted and bloody after ousting of leader, 09/04/2010

Russian president Dmitry Medvedev said Kyrgyzstan is on the verge of what he described as a possible
civil war, and Russia's task is to help the Central Asian nation find a calm way out of its political crisis.

The Russian leader, speaking in Washington late yesterday, said Kyrgyzstan could become a "second Afghanistan."

"There is real risk that Kyrgyzstan may disintegrate into two parts, northern and southern,"
Mr Medvedev said in reply to questions at the Brookings Institution in Washington.

He said it is important to prevent further bloodshed. Mr Medvedev's comments come as Kyrgyzstan's
provisional government leader, Roza Otunbayeva, is sending her deputy Almazbek Atambayev to meet Russian officials.

Ousted Kyrgyz president Kurmanbek Bakiyev said he may resign if the former Soviet republic's interim authority
guarantees his safety after anti-government riots in the capital, Bishkek, left at least 80 people dead last week.

Mr Bakiyev, who fled the capital during the riots, has warned of more bloodshed if the interim
authorities attempt to arrest him. He is rallying support in his stronghold in the south of the country.

However, Ms Otunbayeva said Mr Bakiyev must be put on trial.

"If we get our hands on Bakiyev, then he will be put on trial, he has already had his chance to
leave," she told reporters after meeting US assistant secretary of state Robert Blake in Bishkek.

Mr Blake said Washington would be prepared to help the interim government. "I feel optimistic about
the steps (the interim government) is already taking ... the United States is prepared to help," he said.

The US and Russia both operate military bases in Kyrgyzstan. The US
facility at Manas airport near Bishkek is used to supply troops in Afghanistan.

Mr Medvedev was in Washington to attend President Barack Obama's nuclear security summit.

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2010/0414/breaking3.html