India has expressed concern over the situation in Kyrgyz Republic, where its President Kurmanbek Bakiyev has gone into hiding and former Foreign Minister U.S. Roza Otunbayeva named head of the interim government.
Officials said India was closely following the developments in the Kyrgyz Republic, a “friendly Central Asian country” in its extended neighbourhood. “We hope that the current political situation will be resolved quickly and that peace and stability would return to the Kyrgyz Republic,” they added.
India has been trying to improve ties with Kyrgyzstan with Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao recently visiting Bishkek to exchange views on the regional situation and identify new areas of cooperation.
Short of natural resources including hydrocarbons and with the output from its gold mines showing a decline, Kyrgyzstan shot into prominence recently with the U.S. military base at Manas becoming one of the focal points for transporting American troops and equipment to Afghanistan.
Could complicate plans
According to reports, the instability in Kyrgyzstan could complicate U.S. President Barack Obama's plan to send more troops to Afghanistan from the Manas base whose lease expires in three months. Russia also has a military base at Kant, a short distance away from Manas.
Mr. Bakiyev came to power in 2005 in the ‘Tulip Revolution' and strengthened his control through elections last year in which he reportedly garnered nearly 90 per cent of the votes. The current turbulence triggered over high energy prices and plummeting living standards led to the killing of the Interior Minister besides at least 100 protesters.
