UN Chief Hails Kyrgyzstan's "Peaceful Transfer" Of Power

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon gives a press conference in Vienna on February 16.

The UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has praised Kyrgyzstan's political transition.

Ban said at a meeting on February 16 in Vienna with Kyrgyz Foreign Minister Ruslan Kazakbaev that the Central Asian country's "peaceful transfer of power" consolidated Kyrgyz democracy and set an example for other countries in the region.

Protesters ousted former President Kurmanbek Bakiev in April 2010 after which Kyrgyzstan held parliamentary elections in October 2010 and presidential elections in October 2011.

Kazakbaev and Ban also discussed the reconciliation process in Kyrgyzstan, as well as cooperation against drug trafficking and peace efforts in Afghanistan.