The Kyrgyz provisional government has held its first talks with President Kurmanbek Bakiyev, who fled the capital after violent protests, a OSCE special envoy said on Saturday.
"The provisional government is ready to hold talks, and the first attempt to do so was held yesterday," Zhanybek Karibzhanov told journalists.
"I don't know the results, but the main thing is that the process has begun," he added.
Bakiyev has said he will not resign. Experts say that if he keeps a hold on the south of the country, where he traditionally has the most support, a civil war between the north and the south could be a possibility.
Protests against Bakiyev and his government began in the northwestern Kyrgyz town of Talas on Tuesday and spread to other regions of the country including the capital, Bishkek, on Wednesday and Thursday. At least 79 people died and more than 1,500 were injured in the unrest.
BISHKEK, April 10 (RIA Novosti)
