A defiant Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev said on Sunday he would not step down as head of the Central Asian republic and that any attempt to kill him would "drown Kyrgyzstan in blood."
Bakiyev refused to recognize the self-proclaimed government that came to power in an uprising that forced him to retreat to his southern Kyrgyz homeland, where he spoke to Reuters on condition his exact location be kept secret.
But the 60-year-old president, who appeared assured and calm in a dark blue suit and open-necked shirt, said he was prepared to enter talks with the interim government.
"Although they are an illegitimate government, let's sit at the negotiating table," he said in an interview in a traditional embroidered felt tent, or yurt, in his home region of Jalalabad.
The president, who fled the capital after his government was overthrown on April 7-8, warned any attempt to kill him would have bloody consequences for Kyrgyzstan, a nation of 5.3 million people that has both U.S. and Russian military air bases.
By: Brant
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