"Kyrgyzstan is to be Russia's strategic ally, partner and friend. It has no choice, and I have always thought so. Things were like that throughout the preceding two hundred years, and I am sure they will go on like that in the 21st century," he said in a Novosti interview.
"That was our wise ancestors' behest. They were sure the Kyrgyz nation would survive and make progress only under great Russia's wing. I am glad the new regime has confirmed our policies, which aimed at a strategic alliance with Russia."
The Russian Air Force base in Kant, near Bishkek, will not change its status in the slightest, reassures Rosa Otunbayeva, Kyrgyzstan's acting Foreign Minister. "It is God's will to buttress the base now", after the March 24 coup, Mr. Akayev remarked by way of comment.
"The air base must enlarge and get stronger for the sake of security and progress not of Kyrgyzstan alone but of entire Central Asia. That was one of the lessons the March 24 events taught us," he said.
