Russia on Thursday rejected a statement by ousted Kyrgyz leader Kurmanbek Bakiyev that he is still the president of the Central Asian state.
"I know only one thing: that Mr. Bakiyev faxed his resignation back to Bishkek, so this document cannot be rejected by a verbal statement," Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told a news conference. Bakiyev issued a defiant statement in the Belarussian capital Minsk on Wednesday, saying that he did not recognise his own resignation and called on international leaders to not acknowledge Kyrgyzstan’s new leaders.
