Report: Putin says Russia won't object if Kyrgyz president wants to go to Russia

Moscow will not object if ousted Kyrgyz President Askar Akayev wants to go to Russia, President Vladimir Putin said Friday, but he also praised the new leaders of the Central Asian nation for contributing to the development of ties between Bishkek and Moscow.

Speaking in Armenia, Putin said the situation in Kyrgyzstan resulted from the previous authorities' weakness and the social and economic problems that had accumulated there. He said that the opposition leaders had contributed to developing Russian-Kyrgyz relations, but added sternly that he regretted that the use of what he called illegal means to resolve the problems.

"These are people who are very well-known to us," he said.

He expressed hope that the opposition leaders would re-establish order as soon as possible.

"It's unfortunate that yet again in the post-Soviet space, political problems in a country are resolved illegally and are accompanied by a pogrom and human victims," he said.

Associated Press