Infringing national sovereignty could lead to nuclear apocalypse - Medvedev

Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, right, addresses the 2nd St Petersburg International Legal Forum, 17 May 2012. (RIA Novosti / Dmitry Astakhov)

Source: Russia Today
http://rt.com/politics/infringing-sovereignty-nuclear-apocalypse-482/

Diminishing the principle of state sovereignty is fraught with the destruction of the world order and a full-scale war, even with the use of nuclear weapons, warns Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev.

“We have seen many examples of infringements on sovereignty in the recent years. Just remember military operations against foreign countries in violation of UN resolutions, statements that this or that regime has lost legitimacy – by the way, from the point of view of a foreign state rather than the people in question – as well as introduction of sanctions bypassing international organizations,” Medvedev stated at the International Legal Forum in St. Petersburg.

He specifically stressed that United Nations, although not perfect, is the only tool in the settlement of conflicts for the international community.

“We have no other platform, even though some may not like it. It is the UN Charter that calls for respecting the supremacy of law and sovereignty of states,” Medvedev pointed out.

He went on to say that hasty military operations usually end up with radicals coming to power.

The premier added that those issues, including the situation around Syria and nuclear security, will be discussed at the G8 summit in Camp David on May 18-19.

Russia: Talks with NATO over missile system deadlocked

Anatoly Antonov, Russia’s deputy defense minister and chief negotiator with the NATO on the deployment of a missile system in Europe

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/225567.html

Russia says its negotiations with the NATO over the deployment of a missile system belonging to the Western military alliance within Europe have reached ‘a dead end.’

On Monday, Anatoly Antonov, Russia’s deputy defense minister and chief negotiator with the NATO on the deployment of the missile system, called the missile system a threat to Russia's security.

Antonov pointed out that Moscow may pull out of the new Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START), signed with Washington in 2010.

“New challenges emerge, including missile and nuclear proliferation … That’s why Russia’s military doctrine envisages the use of nuclear weapons in specific cases,” he said.

“I do not rule out that under certain circumstances we will have to boost, not cut, our nuclear arsenal,” the Russian deputy defense minister added.

Earlier, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin had accused Washington and NATO of pointing the missile system at his country.

US-led NATO has claimed that the missile system is planned to thwart possible attacks from 'rogue' states, and it will go ahead with the plan despite Russian concerns.

However, Moscow says it wants legal guarantees that the system will not be aimed at Russia.

Russia test fires long-range missile

Russian missiles. (File photo)

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/217980.html

Russia has successfully test fired its long-range ballistic missile with a new warhead aimed at developing a domestic missile shield capable of encountering US-NATO missile threats.

On Tuesday, Russia tested its long-range ballistic missile RS-18, known as Stilet (Stileto) to the West, from its Baiknonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

According to a statement by the Russian defense ministry, the missile hit its target on the Kamchatka Peninsula on the Pacific

This is while tension is on the rise between Moscow and Washington over a US-NATO missile system in Europe which excludes Russia's participation.

The US claims that its missile system is designed to avert possible missile attacks by either Iran or North Korea, the two major countries that have fiercely resisted US interference in their respective counties.

However, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev says he is not convinced with Washington's claims and wants legal guarantees that the system will not be aimed at Russia.

The US, Israel and their allies accuse Iran of pursuing a military nuclear program and have used this allegation as a pretext to convince the UN Security Council to impose four rounds of sanctions on Iran.

Tehran has categorically refuted Western allegations, saying that as a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), it has the right to acquire and develop atomic technology for peaceful purposes.

'Russia boosts littoral defense in Syria'

A model supersonic cruise missile (file photo)

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/213298.html

Russia has reportedly laid the groundwork for heightened defensive precautions along the Syrian coastline amid the potential of a Western-led military attack against the Middle Eastern nation.

On Thursday, an unnamed Russian military source said that Moscow had delivered anti-ship cruise missiles to Syria, Russia's Interfax news agency reported.

"This weapon allows coverage of the entire coastline of Syria from possible attack from the sea," the source noted.

In November, Russian sources said Moscow was sending its warships to Syrian waters to block any attack led by the Western military alliance of NATO against the country under the guise of 'humanitarian intervention.'

Syria has been experiencing unrest since mid-March, with demonstrations being held both in favor of and against President Bashar al-Assad.

Hundreds of people, including many members of the security forces, have been killed in the unrest.

The government blames outlaws, saboteurs, and armed terrorist groups for the deadly violence, saying that the unrest is being orchestrated from abroad.

The opposition and Western countries, however, accuse the Syrian security forces of being behind the killings. Damascus strongly rejects the claim, asserting that the security forces have been given clear instructions not to harm civilians.

On Tuesday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov called on the US and the European Union to put an end to their threats against Syria.

In October, Russia and China vetoed a Western-backed UN Security Council (UNSC) resolution condemning the Syrian government.

Moscow said the resolution could have led to a Western military intervention in Syria similar to the one in Libya, where, it said, NATO had overstepped its UNSC mandate

West warned against anti-Iran agitation

Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich, and Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/213296.html

The Chinese and Russian governments have called on Western countries to show restraint over Iran, warning them against escalating tensions with the country.

"We hope the countries involved will keep calm, rational and restrained to avoid emotional actions,” that can aggravate the situation, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei was quoted by Xinhua as saying at a press briefing in Beijing on Thursday.

The remarks came after British Foreign Secretary William Hague ordered the closure of Iran's embassy in London following a Tuesday protest rally staged by Iranian students outside the British embassy in Tehran.

The student rally followed approval by Iran's Majlis (parliament) of a bill aimed at downgrading ties with the UK and in protest at Britain's hostile policies towards the Islamic Republic.

Also on Thursday and in an apparent reaction to the rallies, foreign ministers of the European Union (EU) imposed sanctions against 180 more Iranian individuals and companies, but failed to bring into force an embargo against the country's oil sector. The ministers, however, claimed that they would keep working on developing additional restrictive means, which would directly affect Iran's oil industry.

Hong added that China had "taken note of" the aggressive responses to the student protests.

Russia has also cautioned Western countries against further souring their relations with Iran.

"We speak out categorically against cranking up a spiral of tension and confrontation on issues linked with Iran. We believe that this ... is fraught with severe consequences," Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich said on Thursday.

"The increasing tensions in relations with Tehran is essentially blocking the renewal of talks" between Iran and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council -- Britain, China, France, Russia, and the US -- plus Germany (P5+1) over Tehran's nuclear program, Lukashevich added.

On November 21, the United States, Britain, and Canada imposed unilateral sanctions on Iran's energy and financial sectors after a November 8 report by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on Tehran's nuclear program, which had alleged diversion in the Islamic Republic's nuclear activities.

The report has been dismissed by Tehran as "unbalanced, unprofessional, and prepared with political motivation and under political pressure by mostly the United States.”

The US, Israel, and some of their allies accuse Iran of pursuing military objectives in its nuclear program and have used this pretext to push for the imposition of sanctions on Tehran as well as to call for the launch of a military attack against the country.

Iran, however, refutes such allegations as 'baseless' and maintains that, as a signatory to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and a member of the IAEA, it has every right to acquire and develop nuclear technology for peaceful purposes.

The agency has conducted numerous inspections of Iran's nuclear facilities, but has never found any evidence of diversion in Tehran's civilian nuclear program.

Russia activates military radar facility

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/212829.html

Russia has officially activated an early warning military radar facility in response to a planned US missile system in Europe.

On Tuesday, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev inaugurated the facility in the western exclave of Kaliningrad, the Associated Press reported.

"I hope that our partners will perceive this move as the first signal of our country's readiness to respond in kind to the threats, which the missile defense system poses for our forces," Medvedev said, referring to US missile system in Europe.

Medvedev added that in case a cooperation agreement was made, the massive radar could be integrated in a joint NATO-Russia missile shield.

The opening of the radar facility comes days ahead of parliamentary elections.

Earlier, Russia threatened to block NATO's routes to Afghanistan, if the Western military alliance continued to disregard Moscow's concerns regarding the US-led missile shield for Europe.

The US and NATO have also refused to sign a written guarantee requested by Russia, claiming their system does not target Moscow.

The Russian government has long opposed NATO's disputed plan of deploying an anti-missile shield in Europe, arguing that the would-be system in its "backyard” is not to secure Washington's European allies, but is effectively aimed at Russia.

NATO claims that the anti-missile shield is planned to thwart possible attacks from 'rogue' states, and it will go ahead with the plan despite Russia's concerns.

West must end Syria threats: Russia

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/212798.html

The Russian foreign minister has called on the US and the European Union to put an end to their threats against Syria, urging Washington and the European bloc to exercise diplomacy on Damascus.

“Right now, the most important thing is to stop acting by means of ultimatums and try to move toward political dialogue,” AFP quoted Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov as saying on Tuesday.

He further criticized a proposal by the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) to impose a complete arms embargo on Syria.

On Monday, the UNHRC accused Syria of committing crimes against humanity and called for an arms embargo against the Middle Eastern country.

In addition, the Arab League on Sunday approved unprecedented sanctions against Syria.

The sanctions include cutting transactions with the Syrian Central Bank and an embargo on the investments for projects in Syria.

“We are going to view another embargo, this one against Syria, based on the experience that we gained from the Libyan example,” Lavrov said.

Syria has been experiencing unrest since mid-March, with demonstrations being held both in favor of and against President Bashar al-Assad. Hundreds of people, including members of the security forces, have been killed in the turmoil.

Damascus blames “outlaws, saboteurs and armed terrorist groups” for the unrest, saying that it is being orchestrated from abroad.

President Assad has warned against any foreign attack against Syria, saying the military action will cause instability in the whole Middle East.

Russia threatens to block NATO routes

Trucks carrying NATO supplies to US-led forces in Afghanistan (file photo)

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/212755.html

Russia has threatened to block NATO's supply routes to Afghanistan, should the Western military alliance continue to disregard Moscow's concerns about the US-led defense shield for Europe, a report says.

Russian Ambassador to NATO Dmitri Rogozin warned that Moscow will review its cooperation with the Western military alliance on Afghanistan if the NATO fails to address Russia's objections, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday.

Earlier on Thursday, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev warned that direct actions will be taken if his country's concerns are not addressed.

Medvedev envisioned possible missile attacks on Poland, Romania, Spain, and Turkey as a means to disable the counter-missile batteries, if the United States fails to acknowledge the concerns of the Russian defense officials.

He also warned that the country will deploy nuclear weapons to European borders in response to the move.

Russia's threats to suspend the NATO supply lines to Afghanistan coincides with a similar punitive measure taken by Pakistan on Saturday in retaliation to the US-led alliance's recent airstrikes on Pakistani military forces, which killed 24 soldiers.

NATO started using safer routes in Russia to deliver its supplies to its forces since Washington and Moscow reset diplomatic relations in 2009.

The Russian government has long opposed the NATO's disputed plan of deploying an anti-missile shield in Europe, arguing that the would-be system in its "backyard” is not to secure Washington's European allies, but is effectively aimed at Russia.

NATO claims that the anti-missile shield is planned to thwart possible attacks from 'rogue' states, and it will go ahead with the plan despite Russia's concerns.

Russia will hit US missile sites if no deal

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev (L) and President Vladimir Putin

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/211689.html

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev says Russia will target US missile defense sites in Europe if Washington goes ahead with the planned shield despite Moscow's concerns.

Medvedev said on Wednesday that he will deploy strike systems in the west and south of Russia, and deploy Iskander missiles in the Kaliningrad region in order to counter the risk posed by the European missile defense system, Russia Today reported.

“By my order the Defense Ministry will run in a warning system radar station in Kaliningrad without delay,” the Russian president said.

“In the event of unfavorable developments (in regards to European missile defense), Russia reserves the right to halt further steps in the disarmament sphere and, respectively, weapons control,” Medvedev said.

He added, “Besides, given the inseparable interconnection between the strategic offensive and defensive weapons, grounds may appear for our country's withdrawal from the START treaty.”

The new START treaty, signed by Russian President Medvedev and US President Barack Obama in the Czech capital of Prague in April 2010, replaced START 1, which expired in December 2009.

New START went into force on February 5, 2011. The arms reduction pact would limit Washington and Moscow to a maximum of 1,550 deployed nuclear warheads each.

Russia fears that the plans for missile shields in Europe, including in Romania and Poland, would undermine its nuclear deterrence, and thus has been seeking legally binding guarantees to check it.

During a meeting in Lisbon in late November 2010, Russia agreed to cooperate with NATO on the US-backed pan-European missile system.

Russia's agreement with NATO, however, raised eyebrows as Moscow had traditionally been fiercely opposed to the missile system.

Moscow has called for the shared control of the system but Washington refuses to share the responsibility for protecting NATO member-states with a third party.

Israel, Russia heads discuss Middle East events

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev (L) and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanjahu

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/171550.html

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanjahu and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev have met in Moscow to discuss recent developments in the Arab World and the Middle East.

At the Thursday meeting, Medvedev called for a review of the so-called 'peace process,' Press TV correspondent in Moscow reported.

“There are many events in the Middle East and North Africa. There are titanic changes on the way,” Medvedev said.

"Recently, the situation has not developed in a positive direction. Let us see how these events affect the possibility of reaching compromises,” the Russian president added.

For his part, Netanyahu expressed his wish for better prospects in the region.

Earlier, the Kremlin indicated that there are chances that Israel might agree to freeze its settlement activities.

However, observers say Russia's efforts alone are not enough to influence Tel Aviv's policies.

In a Press TV interview, political analyst Vyacheslav Morozov said, “Only [through] common efforts [by] the world society and the United Nations we can reach a good result because Israeli does not surrender; Israel will continue its policy and to stop this aggressive policy against the Palestinian people, needs not just one country.”

Israeli settlement construction, which is illegal under international law, has been the main obstacle to dialogue and undermines efforts to establish lasting stability in the region.

Netanyahu blamed Abbas for being reluctant to resume negotiations.

Netanyahu's trip comes just after the acting Palestinian Authority Chief Mahmoud Abbas left the Russian capital.

But there was no reports of a direct meeting between them.

A day earlier, Abbas said he could meet Netanyahu once the necessary diplomatic grounds are prepared for such a meeting.

Direct talks between the two leaders came to a halt last September, after Israel resumed settlement construction in the occupied West Bank.

Kyrgyz violence level 'alarming'

UNHCR says 200,000 people have been internally displaced by the fighting in Kyrgyzstan [AFP]




Source: Al Jazeera
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia/2010/06/20106164631604263.html


Rapes and killings against children and women are happening at an alarming rate in southern Kyrgyzstan as ethnic violence continues, the UN says.

At least 176 people have been killed so far in the unrest in the Central Asian nation, which began on Friday.

Kyrgyz authorities admit that the toll could be several times higher than the official numbers.

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has said 200,000 people have been displaced within the country and an additional 75,000 have fled to Uzbekistan seeking safety.

Separately, the United Nations Children's Fund (Unicef) has reported that 90 per cent of the refugees from the fighting were children, women and the elderly.

Many children have suffered from physical and mental violence during the unrest, it said.

Accounts of rape

Among those who have made it across the border into Uzbekistan were three sisters, aged between 16 and 23, who had been raped in front of each other by a mob of ethnic Kyrgyz men, an Uzbek doctor said.

"These girls were raped recently and by a lot of men and for several hours, according to their injuries," Mukaddas Majidova, a doctor in the Uzbek town of Khoja-Obod, told the AFP news agency.

Anna Neistat, a senior researcher with Human Rights Watch, told Al Jazeera: "There are allegations of sexual abuse, we have not been able to confirm them so far."

Uzbekistan closed the border on Monday to all except those with fresh wounds or special needs, saying it did not have resources to cope with the mass exodus.

It reopened three checkpoints to let in more than 60 wounded people late on Tuesday.

The US has promised Kyrgystan's interim government $800,000 in emergency aid funds and has dispatched Robert Blake, its special envoy, to the country.

Roza Otunbayeva, Kyrgyzstan's interim president, initially called for Russia to send peacekeepers, but later rescinded the request.

"There is not a need to send peacekeeping forces," she said.

"We hope to deal with this situation with our own forces," she said, claiming that clashes are "on the wane".

But Robin Forestier-Walker, Al Jazeera's correspondent reporting from the border between Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan on Wednesday, said that fighting continued overnight.

"Last night saw [an] exchange of small-arms fire and larger artillery rounds", including tank shells fired by Kyrgz military forces, he said.

UN suspicions

Against this backdrop of continued tensions, suspicion is growing that the fighting between ethnic Uzbeks and Kyrgyz had been deliberately ignited.

The UN says there is evidence that the violence was co-ordinated and began with five simultaneous attacks in the city of Osh.

Rupert Colville, a spokesman for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, said "it might be wrong to cast it, at least in origin, as an inter-ethnic conflict.

"There seems to be other agendas driving it initially".

He said in Geneva on Tuesday that his office had collected witness accounts, including from UN staff, in the cities of Osh and Jalal-abad.

"Several of these reports suggest that the incident began with five simultaneous attacks in Osh involving men wearing balaclavas and carrying guns. It looked like they were seeking to provoke a reaction," Colville said.

He said that one of the attacks was on a gym which he said was "known to be the haunt of a criminal gang.

"Targeting that gym was likely to provoke a reaction."

However, the UN was not in a position to make any direct accusations against any particular individuals or groups at this point, Colville said.

Bakiyev blamed

Witnesses have said the unrest started with mobs of Kyrgyz men attacking ethnic Uzbeks and torching their homes.

The interim government, which assumed power after the president was overthrown in April, has repeatedly accused Kurmanbek Bakiyev, the ousted president, of stoking the conflict.

Otunbayeva, the interim leader, says she has "no doubt" Bakiyev is to blame.

"His sons have been discussing that they want to organise such a crisis and we thought not of such a scale and not of such a deepness," she told Al Jazeera in an interview on Tuesday.

About a month ago, an audio recording was posted anonymously on YouTube with a caption identifying the voices as those of Bakiyev's son Maxim and his uncle Janybek.

The men were discussing plans to arm groups to spread chaos across the south of Kyrgyzstan, sometime in June.

Both men have denied the authenticity of the tape and Bakiyev has repeatedly said he has no involvement in the violence.

The interim government has accused Maxim Bakiyev of financing the ongoing clashes.

The younger Bakiyev was arrested by UK authorities on Monday as he landed at Farnborough airport in a private aircraft.

The Kyrgyz government said it would seek his extradition.

UN urges halt to Kyrgyzstan clashes

Source: Al Jazeera
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia/2010/06/201061525425315637.html


The UN Security Council has condemned the escalating ethnic violence in Kyrgyzstan, calling for calm and the restoration of order following the bloodiest ethnic clashes seen in the region since the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Four days of deadly rioting has left at least 138 people dead, more than 1,800 wounded and forced thousands of refugees to flee across the border into Uzbekistan.

In a statement issued after a briefing late on Monday by Undersecretary-General B Lynn Pascoe, the Security Council said it supported efforts by Ban Ki-moon, the UN chief, and regional organisations "to deal in an appropriate way with the situation".

The council also stressed the need to support the delivery of humanitarian assistance "in an urgent manner".

In his briefing, Pascoe called for the urgent creation of a humanitarian corridor for aid to be delivered in Kyrgyzstan, saying the UN was trying to help people affected by the violence and by shortages of food, water and electricity, especially in Osh.

"We talked about the need to get something in there right away to make it so we could get the humanitarian stuff through," Pascoe told reporters after the meeting.

"It's also a great concern of ours about the refugees - whether they can get across the border," he added, referring to the Uzbekistan border to where thousands of ethnic Uzbeks have fled.

"What we are trying to do is get (Uzbekistan) enough assistance there that they can feel comfortable with additional refugees coming through."

The United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) said on Monday that more than 75,000 refugees had fled into Uzbekistan as a result of the violence, with thousands of others reportedly waiting on the Kyrgyz side of the border.

Yves Giovannoni, the head of the International Committee of the Red Cross in Central Asia, told Al Jazeera that most of those who had entered Uzbekistan were in urgent need of help.

"Some have relatives in Uzbekistan and can stay with them but most are in makeshift camps - parking lots, schools, industrial plants - and they urgently need support from the Uzbekistan authorities and international community," he said.

Most of the fleeing were ethnic Uzbeks, but there were also reports of Tajiks flocking to the border.

The unrest started in the city of Osh on Thursday, with mobs of Kyrgyz men attacking ethnic Uzbeks and torching their houses.

Al Jazeera's Robin Forestier-Walker, reporting from Osh, said the situation appeared to have calmed on Monday night following several days of unrest, but levels of fear remained high.

"We've heard sporadic shots ringing out earlier this evening but now it's quiet in the city centre," he said.

"But people on both sides of this increasing divide between the ethnic Uzbek community and the Kyrgyz community are absolutely terrified. People are ready and packed, ready to go at the first sign of trouble or danger."

Witnesses and officials have repeatedly claimed that fighting had not erupted spontaneously between Kyrgyz and ethnic Uzbeks but had been organised by some third party.

Soronbai Jenbekov, the regional governor of Osh, told Al Jazeera: "There are still attempts by third parties to destroy peace between the two ethnic communities.

"But now everyone has realised this and we're working together to stop them. Our forces haven't yet shot any Uzbeks or Kyrgyz – even though both sides are armed."

His comments came after fleeing ethnic Uzbeks accused Kyrgyz government forces of taking part in the mob violence.

Border appeal

On Monday Navi Pillay, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, urged both Uzbekistan and Tajikistan to "keep their borders open to anyone, irrespective of age or gender, who is in need of sanctuary.

"It seems indiscriminate killings, including of children, and rapes have been taking place on the basis of ethnicity," her office said in a statement.

Uzbekistan ordered its borders closed earlier on Monday, saying it could not receive more people.

"Today we will stop accepting refugees from the Kyrgyz side because we have no place to accommodate them and no capacity to cope with them," Abdullah Aripov, the deputy prime minister, said.

The UNHCR said it was preparing to send aid and emergency teams to Uzbekistan.

Several planes arrived at Osh's airport with tonnes of medical supplies from the World Health Organisation on Monday, after reports that stores have been looted and food supplies were scarce.

There have been claims that Kurmanbek Bakiyev, the deposed Kyrgyz president who now is exiled in Belarus, has been orchestrating a campaign of ethnic conflict in the provinces of Osh and Jalal'abad.

The interim government said on Monday it had arrested a "well-known person" suspected of stoking the violence, but gave no other details.

Suspects from Tajikistan, Afghanistan and Kyrgyzstan were also detained and claimed to have been hired by supporters of Bakiyev, Farid Niyazov, a government spokesman, said.

Arrest

Kenishbek Duishebayev, the Kyrgyz security chief, later said on television that Bakiyev's younger son, Maxim, had been arrested in Britain when he flew into a Hampshire airport on a leased private plane.

Prosecutors, who placed him on an international wanted-list in May, alleged that companies he owned avoided almost $80m in taxes on aviation fuel sold to suppliers of a US air base in the country.

The United States called for a co-ordinated international response to the unrest.

Hillary Clinton, the secretary of state, had spoken with officials in the interim Kyrgyz government as well as some of the Central Asian country's neighbours to discuss the unrest, Philip Crowley, the state department spokesman, said.

The Kyrgyz interim government has asked Russia to send troops to stabilise the situation in the south, but the Kremlin turned down the request.

Dmitry Medvedev, the Russian president, on Monday condemned the violence and said he had spoken Roza Otunbayeva, the interim president.

He said "tough" action must be taken to prevent further unrest and bloodshed.

Violence rages in south Kyrgyzstan

Source: Al Jazeera
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia/2010/06/20106146100726983.html


Sporadic gunfire has continued throughout the night in southern Kyrgyzstan following three days of unrest between ethnic Uzbeks and Kyrgyz in which at least 117 people have been killed.

Fires set by rioters burned across the southern city of Osh on Monday as tens of thousands of ethnic Uzbeks fled the spiralling violence.

At least 1,400 people have been injured in the fighting, according to the country's interim government, which has struggled to stem the nation's worst ethnic violence since the collapse of the Soviet Union.

However, doctors and rights workers have warned that the real number of casualties might be much higher because ethnic Uzbeks may be too afraid to seek hospital treatment.

Meanwhile, up to 80,000 ethnic Uzbeks - mostly women and children - were reported to have crossed the border into neighbouring Uzbekistan to escape the unrest.

Most were being housed in hastily-set up camps along the border.

Ongoing clashes

Al Jazeera's Robin Forestier-Walker, reporting from the border, said there was a steady stream of ethnic Uzbeks trying to cross, adding that violence in the city of Osh was ongoing on Sunday.

"We set out into the city earlier today but had to turn back because it was simply too dangerous," he said.

Our correspondent quoted witnesses as saying that three Uzbek neighbourhoods were under attack, but stressed that he had only been able to hear the Uzbek side.

Many of the fleeing ethnic Uzbeks accused Kyrgyz law enforcement officials of abetting gangs of ethnic Kyrgyz.

There have also been claims that Kurmanbek Bakiyev, the former Kyrgyz president who was ousted in April, has been orchestrating a campaign of ethnic conflict along with his supporters.

Michael Andersen, a Danish filmmaker who has been living in Osh, said "it's very likely that Bakiyev and his cronies are behind this".

"I lived in Osh for several years and when you live there, you don't feel any everyday tension between Uzbeks and the Kyrgyz," he told Al Jazeera.

"This is clearly something that is constructed and provoked by some third party."

Bakiyev, who is in exile in Belarus, has denied any involvement in the violence.

Russian troops

Kyrgyz authorities on Sunday sent five planes of soldiers from the capital Bishkek to Jalal'abad, where the worst of the fighting appeared to be centred.

But the Kyrgyz interim government has also sought Russia's help to quell the violence, but Moscow has declined the request to send military assistance.

However, Russia sent hundreds of paratroopers to Kyrgyzstan on Sunday to protect its military facilities in the north, the Russian Interfax news agency reported.

"The mission of the force that has landed is to reinforce the defence of Russian military facilities and ensure security of Russian military servicemen and their families," a Russian military source was quoted as saying.

The south of the former Soviet republic used to be the stronghold of the deposed president.

The country is currently led by a coalition of rival politicians that coalesced earlier this year in opposition to Bakiyev, who was deposed after anti-government protests resulted in deadly clashes.

Interim authorities had planned to hold a referendum to approve a new constitution on June 27, but the likelihood of that vote taking place looks increasingly slim.

Medvedev warns of Kyrgyz civil war

Source: PressTV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=123295§ionid=351020406


Russian President Dmitry Medvedev says Kyrgyzstan is on the verge of what he described as a possible civil war and threatens to become a "second Afghanistan."

"As I understand it, Kyrgyzstan is on the verge of civil war," Medvedev said in a speech delivered at a US think tank in Washington on Tuesday.

"Our task is to help the Kyrgyz people find a calm way out of this crisis," Medvedev said , suggesting that ousted Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev should formally step down to defuse the current crisis in the former Soviet Republic.

His comments came just hours after Bakiyev expressed readiness to step down if the interim government guarantees his security.

The interim leader, Roza Otunbayeva, has also accepted Bakiyev's call for talks and asked him to specify a time and place.

Sources say Bakiyev is ready to agree to a deal allowing him and his family to leave the Central Asian country.

Medvedev warned that the ongoing political unrest in the Central Asian state could tear the country apart.

“There is real risk that Kyrgyzstan may disintegrate into two parts, northern and southern," the Russian President said in reply to questions at the Brookings Institution.

The US and Russia both operate military bases in Kyrgyzstan. The US facility at Manas airport near Bishkek is used to supply troops to Afghanistan.