Deposed Kyrgyz leader in Belarus: Lukashenko

Belarussian leader Alexander Lukashenko said on Tuesday that Kyrgyzstan's former president, Kurmanbek Bakiyev, was in the Belarussian capital, Minsk.

Bakiyev fled Kyrgyzstan last week after an uprising against his five-year rule. Before he fled Kyrgyzstan, Bakiyev had said that Lukashenko had offered him political asylum.

"He is with us under the defence of our state and president," Lukashenko told the Belarussian parliament. "He is the president of a state with which we are friendly."

Lukashenko said Bakiyev was in Minsk with his family.


Reuters