Kyrgyz PM Denies Uzbek Accusations

Feliks Kulov (file photo) 1 October 2005 -- Kyrgyz Prime Minister Feliks Kulov has denied accusations by officials in neighboring Uzbekistan that his country was involved in the May uprising in the eastern Uzbek province of Andijon.

Kulov said there was no basis for Uzbek officials' repeated claims that alleged Islamist insurgents were trained at camps in southern Kyrgyzstan.

Kulov acknowledged that the accusations have had a "negative effect" on Kyrgyz-Uzbek relationship, but added that relations will warm up again with time.

Kulov was speaking to journalists during a visit to Moscow.

He said the trip was designed to resolve "specific economic problems" with Moscow and insisted that Bishkek was considering Russia to be a "priority" in its foreign policy.

(AFP/Interfax)