Kazakh Foreign Minister and Acting Chair of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe called on Saturday for a prompt consolidation of international efforts in resolving the troubled situation in Kyrgyzstan.
"The current difficult situation in Kyrgyzstan could have a highly destabilizing effect, not only on Central Asia, but also far beyond its borders," Kanat Saudabayev said at an OSCE informal summit in the Kazakh city of Almaty.
"That is why we need a prompt consolidation of international efforts to provide the widest possible cooperation with the Kyrgyz Republic using the full potential and experience of the OSCE," he added.
Violent clashes between ethnic Kyrgyz and Uzbeks in southern Kyrgyzstan broke out in the city of Osh on June 11 and then spread to the neighboring Jalalabad region. Unofficial estimates put the death toll at around 2,000 people, while half a million may have been made homeless by the violent pogroms, which saw thousands of homes burned.
OSCE Secretary General Marc Perrin de Brichambaut said the organization needs to finalize agreements on advisory groups and police activity in Kyrgyzstan.
Director of the OSCE Centre for Conflict Prevention Herbert Zalberg said on Friday that a police advisory group, composed of 52 officers from OSCE states, may be sent to the southern regions of Kyrgyzstan. The final decision will be taken on July 22.
Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev said at Saturday's meeting that it was too early to talk of Kyrgyz stability, despite the peaceful and democratic of a recent referendum in the country.
"The Kyrgyz referendum, which approved a new constitution and a president for the transitional period, solved only a few of the country's problems. The fragile stability in Kyrgyzstan could erupt at any time," he said.
He said the main reason for the uprisings in Kyrgyzstan were the country's underdeveloped economy, poverty, a weak power structure and the fragility of democratic institutions.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that the OSCE's reaction to the events in Kyrgyzstan showed the organization's ability to cope with crisis.
"The OSCE's reaction to the dramatic events in Kyrgyzstan show that the organization is able to respond quickly to crises. We acknowledge both the prompt action shown by Kazakhstan as OSCE chair, and the fact that the OSCE Permanent Council has proved its ability to reach a consensus," he said.
ALMATY, July 17 (RIA Novosti)
