THE US says it is prepared to support the interim government of Kyrgyzstan, which seized power last week after an uprising forced the country’s president to flee.
During a visit to the capital, Bishkek, US assistant secretary of state Robert Blake said: “I feel optimistic about the steps it [the interim government] is already taking. The United States is prepared to help.”
His remarks will help to shore up confidence in the interim government and increase the pressure on Kurmanbek Bakiyev, the fugitive president, to end a seven-day confrontation by offering his formal resignation.
Russia will provide $50 million in grants and loans, finance minister Alexei Kudrin said yesterday, after members of the interim government said it had no money left.
Russian prime minister Vladimir Putin said the amount of aid granted by Moscow to Kyrgyzstan could be increased if needed and President Dmitry Medvedev said his country would help to settle Kyrgyzstan’s political crisis but warned the nation could descend into civil war.
Mr Medvedev said in Washington this week: “Our task is to help the Kyrgyz people find a calm way out of this crisis.” He urged Mr Bakiyev to step down, warning that the crisis could develop into a “second Afghanistan”.
Mr Bakiyev has fled the capital for his home village of Teyyit in southern Kyrgyzstan, where he retains some popular support.
The president’s older brother, Kanabek, said: “My brother will not resign because he was elected by 78 per cent of the people and the opposition leaders have no right to rule.”
Having delivered this message of defiance, he then retreated, saying that Mr Bakiyev would step down under certain conditions.
“My brother is ready to resign if the safety and that of his family is guaranteed, but not one of the opposition leaders can guarantee that. They can’t even provide security in the north.”
Mr Bakiyev is due to speak at a meeting in the southern city of Osh today, but the interim government has installed roadblocks on the route leading to Osh. However, the president’s staff said he would travel anyway.
In Bishkek, some are already losing confidence in the interim government, whose self-proclaimed leader Roza Otunbayeva is a former foreign minister.
Uluk Kydyrbayev, chief executive of the Bishkek Business Club, said the new administration was “overstretched” and “losing momentum”.
He added: “It is not about people [in power]. It is the investment climate that matters.”
In the past, Washington has competed against Russia for influence in central Asia. On this occasion both powers appear to be backing the new interim government. – (Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2010)