Russia will not send peacekeeping forces to Kyrgyzstan, which has been hit by deadly inter-ethnic clashes in recent days, Russia's envoy to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) said on Tuesday.
"Such a step would be unjustified as we are taking here about an internal conflict," Anvar Azimov said.
At least 170 people have been killed in the south of the Central Asian republic in five days of ethnic violence between Kyrgyz and Uzbek groups.
Tens of thousands of ethnic Uzbeks, who make up about half the population in the area, have fled to neighboring Uzbekistan.
Azimov said extra troops had already been sent to Kyrgyzstan to ensure the safety Russian servicemen and their families at the Kant military base, some 20 km from the capital Bishkek.
Kyrgyzstan's interim leader, Roza Otunbayeva, asked Russia last week to send peacekeepers to halt the violence, saying the situation was "out of control."
The post-Soviet Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) decided at an emergency meeting in Moscow on Monday not to send troops but to provide logistical aid.
The interim government has imposed a state of emergency in Osh and Jalal-Abad and allowed police and the troops to shoot to kill in order to quash the riots and stop marauders.
The authorities also issued a decree allowing the Defense Ministry to call up reservists aged under 50 to normalize the situation as quickly as possible and restore law and order.
VIENNA, June 15 (RIA Novosti)
