BISHKEK - Kyrgyzstan's new acting leader Kurmanbek Bakiyev Monday said that ousted president Askar Akayev would be accorded all "appropriate guarantees" under the constitution and the law if he returned to the Central Asian nation.
Bakiyev, a former opposition figure, made the promise to parliament shortly after the chamber confirmed him as interim president and prime minister.
Akayev's 15-year Soviet-era regime collapsed last Thursday after thousands of opposition demonstrators overran the main seat of government in the capital Bishkek.
The opposition had accused Akayev of rigging this year's parliamentary elections in order to stack the chamber with supporters. His regime has also been accused of corruption and cronyism.
The 60-year-old has not appeared publicly since the day before his ouster. The Kremlin said Monday that he had come to Moscow on Saturday, but could not confirm whether he was still on Russian soil.