Uzbekistan Cuts Vital Links With Kyrgyzstan

Kyrgyzstan said Monday that neighboring Uzbekistan has cut off energy supplies and communication links, raising tension between the two Central Asian states.

Kyrgyz Prime Minister Tursunbek Chengyshev told a news conference in his capital, Bishkek, that gas supplies to southern Kyrgyzstan have been sharply reduced since Sunday.

He added that Uzbekistan cut direct telephone links, closed its long land border with Kyrgyzstan and stopped transfers of money from Uzbek to Kyrgyz banks.

Uzbekistan’s measures were taken in response to a new national currency that Kyrgyzstan issued last week to replace the Soviet-era ruble. Uzbekistan still uses the ruble and is worried about which currency Kyrgyzstan will now use to pay its bills, Chengyshev said.