Bakiyev blames Russia for overthrow

Kurmanbek Bakiyev, the deposed Kyrgyz president, has said that Russian anger at his decision to extend the lease on a US air base was a factor in his overthrow.

Speaking from the Belarussian capital of Minsk, where he is in exile, Bakiyev said he had annoyed Russia by allowing the air base, which is crucial for supplying the war in Afghanistan, to continue operating.
Bakiyev fled the Kygyz capital, Bishkek, after violent anti-government protests on April 7 left more than 80 people dead.
He spent several days in his sothern power base of Jala’abad before leaving the country for neighbouring Kazakhstan and then seeking refuge in Belarus.
The ousted president said on Friday that he did not believe he would ever return to his country as the head of state.
“I do not expect to return to Kyrgyzstan as president … [and] I am not going to form a government-in-exile,” Bakiyev said.
He admitted that he had signed a hand-written resignation letter but said he had been “under pressure” and the Kyrgyz parliament had yet to decide whether to accept it.

Russian influence

Bakiyev did not indicate from where the pressure had come, however his sudden departure came a day after he had held telephone talks with Vladimir Putin, the Russian prime minister.
Commenting on their conversation, Bakiyev said: “Putin said he could not reproach me for using arms but if a civil war broke out it would be my responsibility entirely.”
Moscow has long been a powerbroker in the ex-Soviet state and Bakiyev said Dmitry Medvedev, the Russian president, and Putin were unhappy at his decision to allow the US military to continue using the Manas air base.
“They told me ‘this annoys us’,” Bakiyev said.
“I asked ‘why does this annoy you. There is is no threat to your strategic position’.”
Russia and the US both operate military bases in Kyrgyzstan, and the unrest has already disrupted operations at the US base.
Roza Otunbayeva, Kyrgyzstan’s self-declared interim leader, has said the base agreement will be preserved, although she has said there are some outstanding questions.
Hillary Clinton, the US secretary of state, said on Thursday that the US saw no problems with the Manas base deal and that the new Kyrgyz leadership had given assurances to Washington regarding future use of the air base.
Since taking power, the interim government has struggled to impose its authority, with ethnic unrest erupting outside the capital, Bishkek.
Parliamentary elections are set for for October 10, with the potential for presidential polls on the same date.

Source: Al Jazeera and agencies