MOSCOW, Dec. 27 (UPI) -- Moscow welcomed Kyrgyz Prime Minister Almazbek Atambayev on the leader's first official state visit since taking office, the Russian prime minister said Monday.
Atambayev, of the Social Democrats, was appointed prime minister of Kyrgyzstan on Dec. 17, more than eight months after opposition forces removed Kurmanbek Bakiyev from power in a coup.
Atambayev arrived Monday in Moscow for his first state visit, meeting with Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.
Putin's office was quoted by Russia's state-run news agency RIA Novosti as saying the bilateral talks would focus on "the entire spectrum of bilateral cooperation."
Putin noted that trade between the two countries declined in 2009 and was still below levels established before the onset of the global recession in 2008. Moscow, he added, had provided Bishkek with around $25 million in humanitarian aid.
Kyrgyzstan had parliamentary elections Oct. 10, six months after supporters of Roza Otunbayeva removed Bakiyev from power.
Despite modest political development in the aftermath of the coup, tensions remain between members of the Kyrgyz and Uzbek communities in the south of the country, where the deposed president drew his support.
