OSCE Chairperson-in-Office sends Special Envoy to Kyrgyzstan, discusses situation with UN Secretary-General
ASTANA, 8 April 2010 - The OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Kazakhstan's Secretary of State and Minister of Foreign Affairs Kanat Saudabayev, announced today that he has dispatched his Special Envoy, Zhanybek Karibzhanov, to Kyrgyzstan.
Karibzhanov is Deputy Speaker of the Majilis (lower house of Parliament) of Kazakhstan, Chairman of the Kazakh-Kyrgyz inter-parliamentary group and a former Kazakh ambassador. Karibzhanov is expected to arrive in Kyrgyzstan shortly.
Saudabayev also announced that Ambassador Herbert Salber, Director of the OSCE Conflict Prevention Centre in Vienna, will travel to Bishkek to support Karibzhanov.
"I express my deepest condolences over the loss of lives during the unrest, and urge the people of Kyrgyzstan to refrain from violence and seek stabilization of the situation as soon as possible through a broad dialogue," said Saudabayev.
Earlier today, Kanat Saudabayev spoke on the phone with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who is scheduled to address the OSCE Permanent Council in Vienna today. Both officials expressed their deepest concern about the situation in Kyrgyzstan.
Saudabayev and Ban agreed to closely co-ordinate their efforts regarding Kyrgyzstan, and also agreed that Karibzhanov and the UN Special Envoy, Jan Kubis, would co-ordinate their activities on the ground in Bishkek.