Russia announced today it's support of Kyrgyzstan's new government. Meanwhile, the ousted President of the Central Asian republic denies reports that he has resigned calling his ouster a 'coup' and saying he will return to Kyrgistan.

Some may take the Russian endorsement as a bad sign. The new orthodoxy of many on the right is a suspicion that Russia is fast becoming an autocratic state with interests at odds with the U.S.

My view is that the Russian situation is far more complex, especially when it comes to the former Soviet states of Central Asia. Many of these states have become bastions of radical Islamists. In this regard, Russia's interests in the region mesh nicely with our own.

Willism has the background on Kyrgyztan here and why it matters to the U.S.

Parenthetically the Bishkek Cafe, just off of Moscow's Pushkin sqare, has some pretty decent grub. You'll have to dodge the hookers that hang out in front of the bus stop at night, but it's worth it for the money. The food that is, not the hookers. Pervs. Mosnews:

An anti-constitutional coup d’etat has taken place in Kyrgyzstan, toppled Kyrgyz President Askar Akayev said in a statement he sent to the KABAR news agency.

Akayev’s whereabouts remained unknown Friday. Commenting on earlier reports that the ousted Kyrgyz president could be in Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz embassy in that country said it had no information on his whereabouts, Interfax news agency reported.

“Rumors of my resignation from the presidential post are malevolent lies,” Akayev emphasized. “My current sojourn outside the country is temporary,” he said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Moscow was ready to work with the Kyrgyz opposition and offered refuge in Russia to Akayev, who is thought to have fled abroad, possibly to neighboring Kazakhstan.

"We know these people (the opposition) pretty well and they have done quite a lot to establish good relations between Russia and Kyrgyzstan," Putin told reporters on a visit to Armenia.

Speaking at a news conference in the Armenian capital Yerevan, he said the situation was the result of the authorities’ weakness and social and economic problems in the country.

Putin expressed hope that new Kyrgyz leaders would “take the situation under control as soon as possible”.

“We know these people well,” Russian leader said recalling that opposition leaders had earlier worked in the state bodies. “They have contributed to the development of relations between Russia and Kyrgyzstan, they have done much to establish the current level of intergovernmental relationship. I hope that our relations will develop positively in the future,” Russian Information Agency Novosti quoted Putin as saying.

The Russian president, however, expressed regret that “again political issues are being solved with illegal methods, massacres and human victims in one of the countries of the post-Soviet territory”.

Putin said he is ready to host Kyrgyz president Askar Akayev in Russia if the latter wishes to come. Akayev fled from Kyrgyzstan on Thursday and went to neighboring Kazakhstan. It was earlier reported that he planned to fly to Russia.

The opposition gained control over government bodies in the capital of Bishkek on Thursday. The legislative assembly in the country later appointed a new acting president, Ishenbai Kadyrbekov.

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