By empty (4/5/2005 issue of the CACI Analyst)

Russia is ready to help the UN secretary general\'s special representative organize meetings between officials of Georgia and the breakaway province of Abkhazia to discuss security issues, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Yakovenko told journalists on Tuesday. The group of friends of the UN secretary general for Georgia will hold a meeting in Geneva on April 7-8, Yakovenko said. Russian First Deputy Foreign Minister Valery Loshchinin and representatives of Great Britain, Germany, the United States and France will attend the event, he said.

By empty (4/5/2005 issue of the CACI Analyst)

Russia did not interfere in the change of power in Kyrgyzstan, but was ready to evacuate its citizens, Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov told reporters on Tuesday. \"We did not interfere in the internal political events in Kyrgyzstan. Neither Askar Akayev nor the new Kyrgyz authorities requested our help,\" he said.

By empty (4/5/2005 issue of the CACI Analyst)

Kyrgyz President Akaev signed an official statement in the Kyrgyz Embassy in Moscow on 4 April resigning the presidency effective 5 April, RFE/RL\'s Kyrgyz Service reported. Omurbek Tekebaev, speaker of Kyrgyzstan\'s parliament, accepted Akaev\'s resignation letter. Akaev also recorded an 18-minute address to the people, Kabar reported.