FM Davutoglu meets with main Kyrgyz party leader

Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu yesterday met with the leader of Kyrgyzstan's largest political party to discuss the country's political situation ahead of its October parliamentary elections. Davutoglu reportedly told Omurbek Tekebayev, leader of the Ata-Meken Socialist Party, that Turkey places great importance on Kyrgyzstan's welfare and stability and wants to do its best to support the country. During the meeting, Davutoglu and Tekebayev reportedly discussed recent developments in Kyrgyzstan and the Oct. 10 parliamentary elections. Kyrgyzstan's opposition party took power and dissolved Parliament in the strategically important Central Asian state after a bloody uprising in early April that forced ousted President Kurmanbek Bakiyev to flee the capital. Two months later, ethnic Uzbek and Kyrgyz communities in southern Kyrgyzstan clashed, leaving hundreds of people dead and thousands injured. Tekebayev is one of the founding members of the interim government that came to power following the uprising. He was a deputy prime minister in the interim government who was also responsible for constitutional reforms. He resigned when he decided to run in the parliamentary elections in October.