BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan — Kyrgyzstan’s interim leader said Tuesday that her government will extend for a year the lease of a U.S. air base key to the war in Afghanistan and will guarantee the deposed president’s safety if he steps down and leaves the country.
The ousted ruler said he was willing to step down, but he also wants security for his family and close circle as a condition of his resignation — a demand that could block a deal to transfer power and exacerbate the turmoil gripping the Central Asian nation.
Roza Otunbayeva, the interim leader, said in an exclusive interview with The Associated Press that the agreement allowing the U.S. to use the Manas air base will be prolonged after the current one-year deal expires in July.
She said her government is offering security guarantees for deposed President Kurmanbek Bakiyev if he steps down and leaves the country, but she wouldn’t offer such protection to his family members, whom the opposition has accused of corruption and other abuses.
Bakiyev fled the capital, Bishkek, on April 7 after a rally against corruption, rising utility bills and deteriorating human rights exploded into police gunfire and chaos that left at least 83 people dead and sparked protesters to storm the government headquarters.
He told reporters in his home village in the south Tuesday that he would resign and relinquish his claim on power if the interim authorities guarantee “my own security and the security of members of my family and those close to me.”
Kyrgyzstan has remained on edge, and the interim government has issued threats that it will launch a special operation to seize Bakiyev — a move that the ousted leader has repeatedly insisted would end in bloodshed.
Bakiyev signaled his readiness to resign hours after rallying with about 5,000 supporters in an apparent test of how much support he could muster to resist the opposition authorities. The crowd that greeted Bakiyev was highly emotional, but there have been doubts about how much real backing he has and whether he commands enough loyalty in the security forces to mount serious resistance.
