BISHKEK, May 18 (RIA Novosti) - Kyrgyzstan is interested in the expansion of Russian presence, said Kyrgyz First Vice Premier Felix Kulov, a hero of the recent revolution in Kyrgyzstan. His interference prevented bloodshed in the republic.
"There is a Russian airbase in Kant (30 km to the east of Kyrgyz capital Bishkek), however, it is necessary to reinforce Russian presence on the Osh direction," Kulov said at a meeting with chairman of the State Duma commission for CIS and compatriots affairs Andrei Kokoshin.
According to Kulov, Russian investments in Kyrgyzstan will become a stability factor in the country.
Kulov and Kokoshin discussed the developments in Kyrgyzstan after the events of March 24 which led to President Askar Akayev's flight from the country and ways to stabilize the situation in the republic, as well as the situation in neighboring Uzbekistan following the recent turmoil in Andizhan, said the press service of the Kyrgyz government.
"The Islamic trace in Andizhan is obvious and this is a serious problem," Andrei Kokoshin stressed.
However, the Russian parliamentarian does not link his Thursday trip to Osh (southern Kyrgyzstan) with the events on the Kyrgyz-Uzbek border (refugees from Andizhan fled to the Osh region with the 50% ethnic Uzbek population).
Meanwhile, acting Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev, currently in Tajikistan, claimed that there had been no 'color' revolution in Kyrgyzstan.
"Kyrgyzstan saw not a color revolution but a real Kyrgyz revolution which was the result of the execution of a peaceful demonstration in the Aksai district three years ago," Bakiyev said at a press conference in Dushanbe.
In his words, the results of the 2005 parliamentary elections were forged in many Kyrgyz regions.
Such things happen when the authorities do not care for people, he said.
In his opinion, the revolution in Kyrgyzstan will not have any negative influence on the situation in Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Tajikistan.
