The first president of Kazakhstan, Nursultan Nazarbayev, told how he helped former presidents Askar Akayev and Kurmanbek Bakiyev get out of Kyrgyzstan, Tengrinews.kz reports.
According to him, Askar Akayev had to be taken from Bishkek to Taraz by a helicopter to avoid confrontation.
«The same story was after him. He sat down in Osh, gathered his supporters, armed them and was ready to march towards Bishkek. I say, Kurmanbek, what are you doing, why? You will spill blood. Do you want to become president again? And how are you going to work after that? There was an interim president (Roza Otunbayeva) — I called her, she said: «Do something, calm Kurmanbek down.» I called Kurmanbek and said: «Let me take you out of there, from Osh. You will negotiate then, you will be next to me, here. I barely persuaded him,» Nursultan Nazarbayev said in an interview with Khabar TV channel as part of a documentary.
According to him, at that time a meeting on anti-nuclear issues was held in Washington.
«We were there. The President of Russia was Medvedev. There was Obama. There is a photo where the three of us are standing and whispering. It was just about Kyrgyzstan that a civil war begins. Bakiyev wants to move in armed detachments towards Bishkek, something needs to be done. I said that I would take (Bakiyev) out and asked Russian fighters to cover my plane. Adilbek Dzhaksybekov was then the Minister of Defense, I said: «Give a plane.» He began working through military intelligence. Gravel was unloaded on the strip at the airport in Osh. It was impossible to land or take off. I said: «Do you know that for sure? He said: «Not exactly, but they said it. It’s impossible.» I said: «Send the plane, let it go down. If they see heaps, let them fly away, if not, let the plane land,» the first president of Kazakhstan said.
I said to Kurmanbek: «The plane is taking off, get ready.» They arrived, there was no gravel. They took the family and brought them to us. If this had not been done, there would have been great bloodshed. Don’t forget this.
Nursultan Nazarbayev
The presidents of the Kyrgyz Republic Askar Akayev and Kurmanbek Bakiyev were overthrown as a result of mass protests. Both fled the country, Akayev — to Moscow, Bakiyev — to Minsk. The former heads of state are accused of a number of grave and especially grave crimes in the homeland.
