Davutoglu set to discuss Kyrgyz civil strife with Kazakh officials

In Astana, Kazakhstan for a two-day working visit which began yesterday, Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu is expected to meet with Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev and Foreign Minister Kanat Saudabayev to discuss regional matters, particularly neighboring Kyrgyzstan, where recent ethnic clashes have killed at least 117 people and injured more than 1,100. Telling parliamentary deputies last week about Turkey's efforts to help turmoil-stricken Kyrgyzstan, Davutoglu said that a joint action plan to deal with the situation was being prepared with Kazakhstan. "We (both nations) will take action for Kyrgyzstan," he said. "Delegations from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and United Nations are also in Kyrgyzstan. Turkey has played an active role in dispatching them to the region." Davutoglu said once reports from Turkish and Kazakh delegations are ready, they will act on behalf of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia (CICA), chaired this year by Turkey, and the OSCE, chaired this year by Kazakhstan.