Russia ready to help Kyrgyzstan liquidate landslide aftermath

The Russian government is ready to help Kyrgyzstan liquidate the aftermath of the recent calamity, the Government Information Department has informed RIA Novosti.

The source stressed that the government intended to send a plane with essentials to the Oshsk region /south of Kyrgyzstan/, where at the end of April 2003 a landslide ruined a village. Moscow is also considering a possibility to deliver by railway 50 ready-built panel houses and components to restore houses and schools in the Sogot village that suffered from the landslide.

The Department also pointed out that Moscow was currently studying a possibility to allocate money to Kyrgyzstan for buying from Russian producers and delivering 2700 ready-built panel houses to restore houses and schools.

At the end of April Kyrgyz President Askar Akayev sent a letter to the Russian government asking to help liquidate the aftermath of the calamity.

The landslide that killed 38 locals of the Sogot village and destroyed the houses and infrastructure was caused by the long spring and heavy rains in the south of the country. The Kyrgyz president stressed that due to economic difficulties in the county the government could not guarantee safety of the population living in mountainous regions. "When we encountered difficulties we always received fraternal support from Russia, which has never refused us and continues to provide disinterested, highly significant and considerable help," the letter reads