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Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia | |
Ousted Kyrgyz leader Akayev signs resignation | |
2005-04-04 | |
MOSCOW - Kyrgyzstan's deposed president Askar Akayev tendered his resignation on Sunday at his country's embassy in Moscow in the presence of members of the Central Asian state's parliament. Many Kyrgyz see his formal resignation as key to ensuring full legitimacy for new elections provisionally scheduled for June. Akayev signed documents on four points, he said. "One of these is that the president of the Kyrgyz Republic announces his early resignation," Akayev said at a brief news conference. "It has been decided to hold the actual ceremony of early resignation tomorrow." International mediators had pressured acting leader Kurmanbek Bakiyev to allow Akayev to return to Kyrgyzstan and play a role in negotiating a political settlement after he was ousted in protests prompted by flawed parliamentary elections. But Bakiyev declined Akayev's requests to return, saying the new government would not be able to guarantee the ex-president's security.
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Posted by:Steve White |