Leader of Kyrgyzstan interim authorities says talks possible with ousted president

Kyrgyz opposition says it may talk with president

BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan — The head of Kyrgyzstan’s interim government said Wednesday that talks are possible with the nation’s deposed president, but prospects for a compromise were clouded by mutual distrust and threats to use force.

Roza Otunbayeva did not specify what could be discussed but said such talks would likely focus on terms for President Kurmanbek Bakiyev’s resignation. She said there has been no contact with Bakiyev yet, but that a senior member of her provisional government, Azimbek Beknazarov, headed to southern Kyrgyzstan where the president is now staying.

Bakiyev claims he is still Kyrgyzstan’s legitimate ruler, but that he would be willing to resign in exchange for security guarantees for him and close relatives.

Otunbayeva has offered to provide security guarantees for Bakiyev, but she ruled out such protection for his relatives. Members of the interim government and Bakiyev’s supporters have exchanged threats to use force.

Bakiyev, who has taken refuge in his home village in southern Kyrgyzstan far from the capital, Bishkek, together with his brothers, has repeatedly offered to engage in talks, but the interim government had refused.

Bakiyev fled the capital on April 7 after a protest rally exploded into gunfire and demonstrators seized government buildings. At least 83 people died.

Asked about the prospect of talks after meeting with U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Robert Blake, Otunbayeva told reporters, “We will see. We would have to determine a format for such a meeting.”

Blake’s visit to meet with the interim authorities underlined Washington’s strong concern about stability in Kyrgyzstan, where the United States has an air base that is key to military operations against the Taliban in Afghanistan.

He later laid flowers at the square where the protesters were killed last week.

“I just wanted to come and to pay my respects, express my condolences for all the victims of the terrible events of last week,” Blake said. “It’s very moving to be able to come here and see firsthand what we all heard about and read about back in the United States.”

There has been little violence in Kyrgyzstan since the uprising and some subsequent clashes between looters and security forces. Both sides appear to be maneuvering for advantage without setting off new bloodshed, but tensions and defiance are rising amid the stalemate.

A deputy head of Kyrgyzstan’s interim government warned Tuesday that special forces would mount an operation to arrest Bakiyev if he didn’t return to the capital and turn himself in.

One of Bakiyev’s brothers, Akhmat, told The Associated Press in the family stronghold village of Teyit on Wednesday that “we are in full combat readiness. … If they shoot, I’ll start shooting.”

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev warned that political instability in Kyrgyzstan, a former Soviet republic, could spin out of control.

“I believe that Kyrgyzstan is on the verge of civil war now,” Medvedev said in Washington. “The risk of Kyrgyzstan falling into two parts, the northern part and the southern part, is still there.”

Russia also has a military base in Kyrgyzstan, and it has sent some additional troops there when the unrest began. Moscow offered financial assistance to the interim government, and Medvedev’s comments could be part of jockeying for a bigger presence in the strategically located Central Asian nation.

The head of a civil-society group that visited the deposed president on Wednesday warned the interim authorities against any use of force to seize him.

“Bakiyev has armed his guards with military weapons. This means that in a special operation there could be victims from the side of Bakiyev’s supporters, the security structures and peaceful citizens,” Aziza Abdrasulova said in a telephone interview.

One of Bakiyev’s brothers, Zhanybek, was head of the state security guard service and is accused by the opposition of ordering his men to open fire on peaceful protesters.

“I don’t consider myself guilty of what happened. I say as a lawyer that all my actions were lawful,” Zhanybek Bakiyev told AP.

Among the most difficult issues in a possible Bakiyev resignation are whether he would stay in the country. The interim government has firmly insisted he leave, but Bakiyev has shown no inclination to do so, and there are no obvious countries for him to go to for asylum.

Otunbayeva said her government was facing a growing public pressure to bring Bakiyev to justice, and strongly prodded him to leave the country. She added that security guarantees for a “dozen of his relatives” would be impossible.

She said that her government has enough power to control the south of the country, where Bakiyev is hiding, claiming that the deposed president has small support there.

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Associated Press Writers Peter Leonard and Sasha Merkushev in Teyit, Leila Saralayeva in Bishkek and Jim Heintz in Moscow contributed to this report.