Kyrgyz leader Kurmanbek Bakiyev, locked in a messy dispute with the opposition, recalled a decision to sack top officials on Wednesday after his harshest critics snubbed an offer to form a coalition government.
Kyrgyzstan, home to US and Russian military air bases, has been volatile since Bakiyev came to power in 2005 after a wave of violent protests ousted his long-serving predecessor.
"We are inviting new people. Let's work together," Prime Minister Azim Isabekov, Bakiyev's long-serving aide, told reporters after announcing a list of sacked officials including the first vice-premier and a number of ministers. "The government wants new forces, new people, new ideas ... We want the republic to be stable," he said, inviting opposition forces to put forward their candidates.
Hours later Bakiyev's office recalled the decision in a move described by the opposition as an attempt to test its reaction without making any legal obligations.
The confusion raised tensions in the former Soviet republic as the opposition, spearheaded by former Bakiyev ally Felix Kulov, stepped up pressure on the president to resign and hold early elections.
"It's just a political game. (We) did not ask the president to sack the government. We just want early elections," said Omurbek Suvanaliyev, a Kulov aide. "We won't even talk to him." Nurlanbek Shakiyev, Bakiyev's spokesman, sought to play down the president's role in the stand-off and said Bakiyev personally had nothing to do with the sackings.
"We cannot talk about a coalition government yet because there have been no proposals from the opposition," he said. "The president said it was a hasty decision." Melis Eshimkanov, an opposition politician and a Kulov supporter, said: "They (Bakiyev and Isabekov) made the decision together and then got scared."
The opposition accuses Bakiyev, elected in 2005 in an election praised by international observers, of failing to fulfil his pre-election promises to bring stability and economic growth, and stop corruption in the government.
Now split between Kulov's stronger wing and a more pro-Bakiyev camp, the movement was holding a meeting late on Wednesday to discuss the situation. Kulov has said his United Front party would use only constitutional means to bring about early elections. Parliamentary or presidential polls are not due until 2010.