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Kyrgyz Mps vote to declare LDPR leader Vladimir Zhirinovsky persona non-grata

During the Russian Duma debates Zhirinovsky asked for the Lake Issyk Kul in return for writing off the Kyrgyz debt

Photo ITAR-TASS

Photo ITAR-TASS

BISHKEK, May 15 (Itar-Tass) - Deputies of the Kyrgyz parliament on Wednesday have voted in support of a resolution which instructs the Kyrgyz Foreign Ministry to declare LDPR leader Vladimir Zhirinovsky persona non-grata in Kyrgyzstan.

The resolution was backed by 67 deputies, said a source from the Kyrgyz parliament which numbers 120 deputies who represent five political parties.

Earlier, during the Russian Duma debates on writing off the Kyrgyz debt, which had amounted to almost 500 million dollars, Vladimir Zhirinovsky asked for the Lake Issyk Kul in return for writing off the Kyrgyz debt. "Issyk Kul is a beautiful lake which is much better than the Black Sea because it is not contaminated; besides, there are villages scattered around where the people speak Russian," Zhirinovsky said then.

The status of persona non-grata Zhirinovsky faces in Kyrgyzstan aroused a different reaction there. Many believe that Zhirinovsky was slandered; their opponents said that declaring Zhirinovsky persona non- grata would result in the aggravation of the relations with Russia and urged to play down the incident.

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