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| Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia |
| Kyrgyz coup: Who is new leader Roza Otunbayeva? |
| 2010-04-08 |
| Roza Otunbayeva, the woman lifted to power by Kyrgyzstan's second popular revolt in five years, is a Moscow-educated, English-speaking former foreign minister who will likely find quick acceptance in Russia and the West alike. Skip to next paragraph Ms. Otunbayeva, who served as Kyrgyz ambassador in London and Washington during the 1990s, held her first official conversation as head of the interim government with Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin on Thursday. Mr. Putin appeared to throw Moscow's support her way. "It is important that the conversation was held with her in her role as the head of the government of national confidence," Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists. "Otunbayeva said she fully controls the situation in the country," he added. The US is likely to back her as well. She promised today that the US Transit Center at Manas (formerly Manas airbase), a key logistical hub for the US war in Afghanistan, will remain open. Otunbayeva is described by analysts as tough but soft-spoken, and politically moderate in her views. |
| Posted by:ed |
| #2 I think that there is a 5 year life cycle to governments in kleptocratic Kyrgyzstan. |
| Posted by: Alaska Paul 2010-04-08 16:50 |
| #1 That was fast. |
| Posted by: Ebbang Uluque6305 2010-04-08 15:43 |