Kyrgyz president steps down

KYRGYZ President Askar Akayev, who fled Kyrgyzstan last month after demonstrators stormed his offices, signed a resignation agreement yesterday, a key step toward restoring stability in the central Asian nation.

Mr Akayev signed the agreement at the Kyrgyz Embassy in Moscow, said Kyrgyz lawmakers, who helped arrange the deal. They said the resignation was effective yesterday.

By stepping down, he would remove the last major obstruction to holding new presidential elections, tentatively scheduled for June 26.