BISHKEK -- Kyrgyz President Almazbek Atambaev has said he will cancel a planned visited to Uzbekistan this summer unless a standoff over a disputed segment of the Kyrgyz-Uzbek border is resolved.
Atambaev told journalists on March 24 that Kyrgyzstan would never launch a war, but was ready to respond to any kind of "aggression."
He was scheduled to attend a summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in Tashkent on June 23-24.
The SCO comprises China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.
Atambaev told journalists in Bishkek that Kyrgyzstan would never launch a war, but was ready to respond to any kind of "aggression."
On March 18, Uzbek authorities deployed dozens of troops, two armored personnel vehicles, and two military trucks near the border in Kyrgyzstan's southwestern Ala-Buka district.
Kyrgyz authorities responded by sending troops and military equipment to the area.
Both sides withdrew some troops and equipment on March 21, but the situation remains tense.
