Ousted Kyrgyz president arrives in Kazakhstan

MOSCOW, April 15 (Xinhua) -- Ousted Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev arrived in Kazakhstan on Thursday and has signed a letter of resignation, local media reported, citing a source in the Kyrgyz interim government.

File photo taken on April 1, 2010 shows then Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev talks with his wife in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. (Xinhua/Sadat)

Kazakh Foreign Ministry spokesman Ilyas Omarov confirmed the plane carrying Bakiyev has landed at the airport of the Kazakh regional center Taraza.

He didn't disclose where Bakiyev would head for next. But it was reported that Bakiyev would fly to the Kazakh capital Astana to have talks with President Nursultan Nazarbayev.

Topchubek Turgunaliyev, a member of Kyrgyzstan's interim government, told local media that Bakiyev has signed a formal resignation statement and stepped down.

But source from Bakiyev's entourage earlier told the Interfax news agency that the president did not formally resign before he left Kyrgyzstan.

Turgunaliyev said that Bakiyev was accompanied by his wife and two children, while his other relatives apparently remained in Kyrgyzstan.

Bakiyev claimed on Thursday that Kazakhstan and Belarus have offered him political asylum.

"The question of my future whereabouts is being discussed by the presidents of some countries," Bakiyev told his fellow villagers and media in Teyitm.

Last week, thousands of protesters clashed with security forces throughout the country, driving out local governments and seizing government headquarters in Bishkek.

Bakiyev fled to the south and opposition parties formed an interim government led by Roza Otunbayeva, former foreign minister.

Bakiyev said on Tuesday he would resign if the interim government guarantees his security, as the interim government issued an ultimatum for him to surrender hours after it abolished his presidential immunity.