Kyrgyzstan’s Foreign Ministry is a little unhappy with the US Embassy it seems.
BISHKEK, February 25 (RIA Novosti’s Yulia Orlova) – The Foreign Ministry of Kyrgyzstan thinks that some utterances of the United States’ ambassador may trigger “a controversial reaction of the public circles, which in some cases describe them as interference in the internal affairs of Kyrgyzstan”.
First deputy foreign minister of Kyrgyzstan Talant Kushchubekov said this at a meeting with deputy chief of the U.S. mission Donald Lu.
The pretext was the declaration of American ambassador Steven M. Young in the interview to the Azzatyk radio, RIA Novosti learnt on Friday from the press service of the Foreign Ministry of Kirghizia. The American ambassador said, among other things, that if the parliamentary elections are held here with violations and across the democratic lines, this might in the future entail the cooling of relations between not only the United States and Kyrgyzstan, but also the rest of the world.
The Kyrgyz side does not see any grounds for saying so. Mr. Kushchubekov remarked that such statements “cause regret” against the background of the considerable efforts which the president and the government have been and are applying to ensure honest, transparent and open elections in line with the generally-recognized international norms. Mr. Kushchubekov expressed the hope that the chief of the American diplomatic mission in Bishkek “will be more restrained in commentaries and suppositions on the political situation in the country of stay” because this may “negatively tell on the electoral process in Kyrgyzstan”.
Mr. Kushchubekov confirmed Kyrgyzstan’s adherence to cooperation with the United States despite any attempts by some destructive elements to “drive a wedge” in the development of all-round relations between the two friendly states and nations.
You’d swear the Sergei Lavror was writing this stuff. What Ambassador Young said was a repeat of a message delivered to Kyrgyzstan by the State Department as far back as December of 2003. It’s a simple warning: the state of Kyrgyzstan’s relationship with the United States is partially dependent on the ability of its government to allow free elections. If anything, it’s not so much a violation of Kyrgyzstan’s sovereignty as it is a threat.
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Nathan Hamm – author of 2973 posts on Registan.net.
Nathan is the Founding Editor and Publisher of Registan.net, which he launched in 2003. He was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Uzbekistan 2000-2001 and received his MA in Central Asian Studies from the University of Washington in 2007. Since 2007, he has worked full-time as an analyst, consulting with private and government clients on Central Asian affairs, specializing in how socio-cultural and political factors shape risks and opportunities and how organizations can adjust their strategic and operational plans to account for these variables. Nathan is currently seeking research, analysis, and consulting opportunities. He can be contacted via Twitter or email.
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