Turkish officials visit Kyrgyz cities torn by ethnic violence

The delegation, led by Foreign Ministry Deputy Undersecretary Hakkı Akil, was to host a fast-breaking dinner, or iftar, on Tuesday in Osh and meet with representatives of the city's Meskhetian Turks. At least 180 people were killed and about 2,000 were wounded in ethnic clashes between Uzbek and Kyrgyz people in the Osh and Jalal-Abad provinces in June.

The Turkish officials, who arrived in Kyrgyzstan on the weekend, had talks with Kyrgyz leaders in Bishkek before heading to the country's south. The delegation met with Amangeldy Muraliyev, the first deputy prime minister of the interim government, and Foreign Minister Ruslan Kazakbaev on Monday, the Anatolia news agency reported. Turkish officials also had talks with Omurbek Tekebayev, the leader of Kyrgyzstan's largest political party, the Ata-Meken Socialist Party. Tekebayev met with Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu and other Turkish officials during a visit to Ankara last week. He was a deputy prime minister in the interim government that was responsible for constitutional reforms.

During the talks, the Turkish officials reaffirmed Turkey's commitment to bolstering and helping Kyrgyzstan's efforts in its transition to a parliamentary system, Anatolia said. They also discussed Turkish efforts to help Kyrgyz authorities restore stability in the southern provinces, according to a statement from the Kyrgyz interim government. Turkey is to provide Kyrgyzstan with $21 million in aid and $11 million of the aid will be spent on implementing a jointly drafted action plan to rehabilitate the southern cities in the aftermath of clashes.

The Turkish delegation includes representatives from the Foreign Ministry, the Interior Ministry and the Education Ministry, as well as the Turkish Red Crescent (Kızılay) and the Religious Affairs Directorate. The delegation is expected to complete its visit on Thursday.