Kyrgyzstan's President Almazbek Atambayev on Thursday appointed a new prime minister and cabinet, ending two weeks of limbo caused by a split within the ruling coalition in the Central Asian country. The candidacy of new prime minister, Zhantoro Satybaldiyev, formerly chief of Atambayev's staff, was earlier approved by the parliament of the politically volatile former Soviet republic.
Atambayev had ordered the previous government led by Omurbek Babanov to disband last month after the ruling coalition split apart and lost its majority in the parliament. The new premier Satybaldiyev, known for his conservative views, promised to fight corruption and said that "if this Kyrgyz government is unable to work, I will stand down".
"To fight corruption means first and foremost to stop the political corruption, the buying and selling of (government) posts," he said. The US State Department welcomed the new coalition government and the selection of Satybaldiyev in a statement on Thursday, calling it a "testament to the strength of the Kyrgyz Republic's democratic institutions".
Satybaldiyev has over the past decade served as a deputy prime minister and a parliamentary deputy and led efforts to rebuild the southern cities of Osh and Jalalabad after deadly rioting in 2010. The government crisis in Kyrgyzstan began after the Ata Meken and Ar Namys parties withdrew from the ruling coalition on August 24, accusing Babanov and his cabinet for failing to steer the country through global economic turmoil. The new cabinet includes a new finance minister, Olga Lavrova from the Ar Namys party, and a new foreign minister, career diplomat Erlan Abdyldayev who has served as Kyrgyzstan's ambassador to China.