Kyrgyzstan pleas for Russian aid after ousted leader 'looted coffers'

The new leader of Kyrgyzstan moved swiftly to strengthen ties with Russia yesterday as the ousted President was accused of looting the country's banks. Roza Otunbayeva sent a team to Moscow to request aid a day after Vladimir Putin, the Russian Prime Minister, offered to help to rebuild the former Soviet republic. The delegation was led by Almazbek Atambayev, her deputy in the provisional Government. Officials accused President Bakiyev of ransacking the state treasury before he fled Bishkek during the revolution, in which 75 people died and 400 were wounded. They froze the banking system, saying that it contained only $22 million. "The state coffers are almost empty. All the funds have been transferred," Edil Baisalov, Otunbayeva's chief of staff, said.