Get 40% Off
🤯 This Tech Portfolio is up 29% YTD! Join Now to Get April’s Top PicksGet The Picks – Just 99 USD

Kyrgyzstan protests over Kazakh "support" for opposition candidate

Published 20/09/2017, 09:10
Updated 20/09/2017, 09:20
© Reuters. Kazakh President Nazarbayev attends St. Petersburg International Economic Forum 2016

© Reuters. Kazakh President Nazarbayev attends St. Petersburg International Economic Forum 2016

BISHKEK (Reuters) - Kyrgyzstan's government officially protested on Wednesday after Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev met with Kyrgyz opposition presidential candidate Omurbek Babanov, saying its neighbour was interfering in its Oct. 15 election.

Nazarbayev's office said on Tuesday he had met Babanov, a leader of the Kyrgyz opposition Respublika-Ata Zhurt party, in Kazakhstan, and expressed readiness to work "with a new president in whom the Kyrgyz people will put their trust".

The Kyrgyz foreign ministry said in a statement on Wednesday it viewed the meeting and comments from Nazarbayev as an expression of support for Babanov, 47, one of the main challengers to the ruling party's candidate.

"The Kyrgyz side regards those comments and the wide coverage of this meeting by the Kazakh side as an attempt to influence the choice of the people of Kyrgyzstan and interfere in the domestic affairs of the Kyrgyz Republic," it said in a note handed to the Kazakh ambassador.

Kyrgyz President Almazbek Atambayev is barred by the constitution from running for a second term. His Social Democratic party, which leads a majority coalition in parliament, is backing Sooronbai Jeenbekov, who stepped down as prime minister last month in order to run for the presidency.

The mostly Muslim ex-Soviet nation is a parliamentary republic where two previous presidents have been toppled by protests.

Kyrgyzstan hosts a Russian military air base and its economy relies heavily on remittances from migrant labourers working in Russia, as well as on gold mining.

© Reuters. Kazakh President Nazarbayev attends St. Petersburg International Economic Forum 2016

Although Kazakhstan, a bigger and wealthier Central Asian nation, is also a Russian ally, relations between Bishkek and Astana have been rocky, with tensions over cross-border trade and sharing of water resources.

Latest comments

Risk Disclosure: Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.
© 2007-2024 - Fusion Media Limited. All Rights Reserved.