U.S., OSCE agree need for coordinated aid efforts in Kyrgyzstan
The United States and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe agree that more coordination is needed in aid efforts in Kyrgyzstan, where ethnic violence has killed 170 people, Kazakhstan’s Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday.
Kazakhstan holds the OSCE’s rotating presidency this year, and Foreign Minister Kanat Saudabayev spoke by telephone with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Monday.
«The two sides expressed deep concern at the further escalation of violence, which has caused numerous human casualties,» the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
«The parties agreed on the need to consolidate efforts of the OSCE and UN in providing aid to Kyrgyzstan to resolve the grave crisis,» it said.
According to the ministry, Clinton and Saudabayev called on the interim government in Kyrgyzstan to engage in «more active and effective work with the parties involved in the conflict, creating the necessary conditions for interethnic tolerance, trust and harmony for all the people of Kyrgyzstan.»
Southern Kyrgyzstan has been wracked by several days of violence between ethnic Kyrgyz and Uzbek. Tens of thousands of ethnic Uzbeks have fled to neighboring Uzbekistan, which has asked for international assistance to cope with the refugees.
