Reuters 8 October 2020
BISHKEK/MOSCOW Oct 8 (Reuters) - Russia said on Thursday that Kyrgyzstan, where Russia has an air base, had descended into chaos and Moscow had obligations under an existing security treaty to prevent the situation from totally breaking down.
The Central Asian nation has been gripped by unrest since parliamentary elections on Sunday which government critics and western monitors said were marred by vote-buying. Protesters stormed government buildings on Tuesday and rival groups have since claimed power.
Parliament failed to gather a quorum in an overnight session, deputies said earlier on Thursday, extending the power vacuum.
"The situation looks like a mess and chaos", Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told a briefing, referring to Russian obligations under a security treaty between the two countries to avoid a complete breakdown of government.
He also confirmed that Alexander Bortnikov, the head of Russia's FSB security service, had spoken to the new acting security chief of Kyrgysztan, Omurbek Suvanaliyev, on Wednesday.
Three opposition groups have each proposed their candidates for interim prime minister who would need to oversee a repeat vote in the coming months, Kyrgyz news website Akipress quoted deputy Ryskeldi Mombekov as saying.
In addition to Sadyr Zhaparov and Tilek Toktogaziyev, who have already made their ambitions clear this week, Mombekov said Omurbek Babanov, who has already served as the cabinet head, had also emerged as a contender.
But the outgoing parliament has itself split into two groups that were meeting separately outside the headquarters ransacked by protesters, Mombekov said, and the group that met overnight in a hotel only included 40 MPs, whereas major decisions such as naming a cabinet require a 61-vote majority.
Another MP, Elvira Surabaldieva, posted a video from the meeting online, saying it had failed to pass a motion to impeach President Sooronbai Jeenbekov.
Jeenbekov's whereabout have remained unknown since Tuesday although his spokeswoman told Russia's TASS news agency he remained in Kyrgyzstan and was personally holding talks with various political groups.
Kyrgyzstan's central bank has allowed financial institutions to reopen on Thursday since their closure on Tuesday, as business associations warned the nation of 6.5 million could face food shortages if banks and tax offices remained shut and public safety could not be guaranteed.
At the same time, deputy security council chief Omurbek Suvanaliyev told Russia's Interfax news agency Kyrgyzstan was tightening border controls to ensure security.
Sunday's election handed the victory to two establishment parties, one of them closely linked to Jeenbekov.
Eleven other parties refused to accept the results and the central election commission annulled them on Tuesday as it became clear Jeenbekov was losing his grip on power.
One person has been killed and more than a thousand have sought medical help since the unrest broke out, as vigilante units formed by Bishkek residents scuffled with protesters and looters.
However, acting interior minister Kursan Asanov, who took over this week after running in the election as an opposition candidate, said police and vigilantes had managed to prevent mass looting in the capital.
He vowed to stop any attempts to further destabilise the country where ethnic violence left hundreds dead after the ouster of president Kurmanbek Bakiyev in 2010 in another revolt.
Asanov also urged parliament to convene and install a legitimate cabinet, describing the current situation as stable but tense.
(Reporting by Olga Dzyubenko Writing by Olzhas Auyezov; Editing by Philippa Fletcher)
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