Global General

US diplomat meets with interim Kyrgyz leader

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-04-09 02:35

WASHINGTON - A US diplomat met Thursday with interim Kyrgyz leader Roza Otunbayeva and urged calm, the State Department said on Thursday.

"Our charge at the embassy in Bishkek also met today with opposition leader Roza Otunbayeva," said State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley, falling short of recognizing her as the country's leader.

"Our message in both cases was that we hoped that calm will be restored in a manner consistent with democratic principles," Crowley said.

"Our priority at this point is law and order and that democracy be established in accordance with the rule of law," he said.

Kyrgyz opposition parties on Thursday claimed to form an interim coalition government, while President Kurmanbek Bakiyev refused to step down after clashes that left at least 75 people dead and another 1,000 injured.

The interim government led by former Foreign Minister Roza Otunbayeva would replace the government of Bakiyev, who fled the capital to southern Kyrgyzstan after a day of bloody unrest.