Russia continues to help troubled Kyrgyzstan - deputy CSTO chief
15:34 01/10/2010 MOSCOW, October 1 (RIA Novosti) - Russia continues to help the former Soviet republic of Kyrgyzstan in compliance with the Collective Security Treaty Organization's (CSTO) decision, the CSTO deputy secretary general said on Friday.
"Concerning Kyrgyzstan, the CSTO made a high priority decision about providing help, and this decision is currently being fully implemented," Valery Semerikov said.
The situation in the republic remains tense since violent anti-government protests in April forced then-President Kurmanbek Bakiyev to flee the country with his immediate family and take refuge in Belarus.
In mid-June, the country saw its worst interethnic clashes in two decades, with some 2,000 people believed killed. About 100,000 ethnic Uzbeks fled to neighboring Uzbekistan and hundreds of houses were destroyed in the Osh and Jalalabad regions.
Russia sent 400 tons of humanitarian aid to Kyrgyzstan in April-July, including food, medical supplies and tents.
On Wednesday, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin signed a decree to allocate $8 million this year via UN funds to help Kyrgyzstan in dealing with the aftermath of this year's riots and ethnic clashes.
According to the document, $2 million will be allocated to the UN World Food Program and $3 million to the International Civil Defense Organization.
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