Read-out of President Obama’s Meeting with Kyrgyzstani President Roza Otunbayeva

President Obama met with Kyrgyzstani President Roza Otunbayeva in New York today to discuss ways to deepen our relations based on mutual interest and mutual respect.  President Obama expressed his admiration for President Otunbayeva’s courageous efforts to rebuild democratic institutions in Kyrgyzstan over the last several months.  Under Otunbayeva’s leadership the Kyrgyz government removed restrictions on independent media, drafted a new constitution, which was ratified by a referendum on June 27, 2010, and will hold elections for a new parliament next month.  President Obama also praised President Otunbayeva’s actions to end the tragic violence that exploded in southern Kyrgyzstan last June.  He urged the Kyrgyzstani president to take further steps to prevent renewed violence, including approving the deployment of a Police Advisory Group (PAG) – a 52-member team assembled and supported by the Organization of Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) — and the commencement of a credible international commission of inquiry to investigate the causes of the tragic loss of life and property, which occurred last June.  The two presidents also discussed our common security and development objectives in Afghanistan, and President Obama thanked President Otunbayeva for Kyrgyzstan’s contributions towards meeting these shared objectives.