Clinton and Lavrov discuss Kyrgyzstan situation

Secretary Clinton and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov were on the phone yesterday discussing the situation in Kyrgyzstan, where fighting between ethnic Kyrgyz and Uzbeks has resulted in an estimated 2,000 deaths and almost 400,000 ethnic Uzbeks fleeing to or across the border with Uzbekistan. The country still plans to hold a June 27 referendum ...

VICTOR DRACHEV/AFP/Getty Images
VICTOR DRACHEV/AFP/Getty Images
VICTOR DRACHEV/AFP/Getty Images

Secretary Clinton and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov were on the phone yesterday discussing the situation in Kyrgyzstan, where fighting between ethnic Kyrgyz and Uzbeks has resulted in an estimated 2,000 deaths and almost 400,000 ethnic Uzbeks fleeing to or across the border with Uzbekistan. The country still plans to hold a June 27 referendum on a new constitution, despite a state of emergency in some regions.

Secretary Clinton and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov were on the phone yesterday discussing the situation in Kyrgyzstan, where fighting between ethnic Kyrgyz and Uzbeks has resulted in an estimated 2,000 deaths and almost 400,000 ethnic Uzbeks fleeing to or across the border with Uzbekistan. The country still plans to hold a June 27 referendum on a new constitution, despite a state of emergency in some regions.

State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said in a statement yesterday:

[Clinton and Lavrov] agreed that the issue of the upcoming referendum is the sovereign decision of Kyrgyzstan to make and agreed to encourage the authorities of Kyrgyzstan to conduct it according to international standards with the monitoring support of OSCE [Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe] and others. The ministers also discussed coordination of U.S. and Russian humanitarian assistance and other support to Kyrgyzstan to help its authorities restore security, stability, and reconciliation among all citizens of Kyrgyzstan.

(In the photo above, Kyrgyz refugees sit under their tent on the Kyrgyz-Uzbek border  on June 19.)

Preeti Aroon was copy chief at Foreign Policy from 2009 to 2016 and was an FP assistant editor from 2007 to 2009. Twitter: @pjaroonFP

More from Foreign Policy

Keri Russell as Kate Wyler walks by a State Department Seal from a scene in The Diplomat, a new Netflix show about the foreign service.
Keri Russell as Kate Wyler walks by a State Department Seal from a scene in The Diplomat, a new Netflix show about the foreign service.

At Long Last, the Foreign Service Gets the Netflix Treatment

Keri Russell gets Drexel furniture but no Senate confirmation hearing.

Chinese President Xi Jinping and French President Emmanuel Macron speak in the garden of the governor of Guangdong's residence in Guangzhou, China, on April 7.
Chinese President Xi Jinping and French President Emmanuel Macron speak in the garden of the governor of Guangdong's residence in Guangzhou, China, on April 7.

How Macron Is Blocking EU Strategy on Russia and China

As a strategic consensus emerges in Europe, France is in the way.

Chinese President Jiang Zemin greets U.S. President George W. Bush prior to a meeting of APEC leaders in 2001.
Chinese President Jiang Zemin greets U.S. President George W. Bush prior to a meeting of APEC leaders in 2001.

What the Bush-Obama China Memos Reveal

Newly declassified documents contain important lessons for U.S. China policy.

A girl stands atop a destroyed Russian tank.
A girl stands atop a destroyed Russian tank.

Russia’s Boom Business Goes Bust

Moscow’s arms exports have fallen to levels not seen since the Soviet Union’s collapse.