Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan end border standoff
BISHKEK - Kyrgyzstan and its bigger Central Asian neighbour Uzbekistan have ended a standoff over a disputed border area, pulling back troops and armoured vehicles, Kyrgyzstan's border guard service said on Saturday.
The confrontation between the two former Soviet republics began last week, triggering public protests on the Kyrgyz side where President Almazbek Atambayev has accused his opponents of using the border standoff to try to destabilise the country.
A spokeswoman for the border guard service said both sides had removed their troops and armored personnel carriers from the area near the Kyrgyz town of Kerben on Saturday morning, after talks between two border guard commanders a day earlier.
