Word: bakiyev
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...largely through Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. If the U.S. were to lose Manas, U.S. officials would likely seek a replacement base in the vicinity and explore options in Azerbaijan, Georgia or Uzbekistan. But U.S. officials believe that Kyrgyzstan's poverty - rioting over increased utility prices played a key role in Bakiyev's ouster - creates an incentive for the country to retain its U.S. tenant...
...Russia appears to be happy with the outcome of Wednesday's uprising, which caused President Kurmanbek Bakiyev to flee to the south of the country - though he has yet to give up power. But what remains somewhat unclear is whether Russia was directly involved in the protests that prompted his ousting. On Friday, April 9, Omurbek Tekebayev, another leader of the revolutionary government, claimed that it was. In an interview with Reuters, Tekebayev said Russia had "played a role," adding, "You've seen the level of Russia's joy when they saw Bakiyev was gone. So now there...
...Moscow, however, has been less forthright on the matter. On Wednesday, Putin staunchly denied any involvement in the unrest. "Not Russia, not your humble servant. Russian officials have nothing to do with these events," Putin said. Yet he went on to chastise the Bakiyev government for "stepping on the same rakes" as the corrupt leadership it had itself deposed in 2005. On Thursday, Putin made it even clearer which government he preferred. "Due to the special relationship between our two countries, Russia always has provided the necessary humanitarian aid to the people of Kyrgyzstan and is ready to continue providing...
...Whether or not Moscow played a part in encouraging the opposition, the turn of events marks a sudden reversal in relations between the two countries. Ties between the Kremlin and Bakiyev's government had deteriorated sharply in recent months, in part because of Bakiyev's powerful son Maxim, who had acted as a negotiator with the U.S. over the use of the Manas air base outside the capital, Bishkek, to ferry supplies to U.S. troops in Afghanistan. (Amid Wednesday's upheaval, the U.S. State Department said Maxim Bakiyev was on his way to the U.S. for consultations.) The opposition...
...Kyrgyz opposition, meanwhile, took up the Russian cause in recent months, expressing deep concerns that Bakiyev's government was siding too closely with the Americans at the expense of traditional ties with Moscow. Otunbayeva was at the forefront of this initiative. In February, when she was still an opposition leader in the Kyrgyz parliament, she told Bakiyev's government that it "must not act the way it's acting toward Russia, which is our strategic partner and ally...