Askar Akayev, the former president of Kyrgyzstan, accepted reality after being deposed last month and formally resigned his position. Akayev had to meet a Kyrgyz delegation at the embassy in Moscow as he has been declared persona non grata in his homeland:

Kyrgyzstan's deposed President Askar Akayev formally resigned on Monday allowing the Central Asian state's new rulers to consolidate their grip on power seized in last month's coup and prepare for a new election.

The veteran leader formally stepped down in a ceremony at the Kyrgyz embassy in the Russian capital, where he had fled after the coup on March 24.

"Askar Akayev has already signed the (resignation) statement," Bermet Bukasheva, member of a Kyrgyz delegation dispatched to Moscow to negotiate with the ousted leader, said in comments shown on Russian television.

After a confusing two weeks where two Kyrgyz parliaments struggled for control and the interim security chief threatened to arrest the people who freed him from prison, Akayev's resignation eases the political tensions immensely for interim president Kurmanbek Bakiev. It allows the new parliament constitutional standing to place Bakiev in charge, if retroactively, until new presidential elections can be held in three months. Bakiev has already announced his candidacy, while Felix Kulov, the more popular opposition candidate who now heads the security forces, has yet to decide.

Akayev asked for his country's forgiveness for any past "mistakes" he may have made. Making the request from the safety of Moscow probably suits the circumstances for Akayev. I doubt he'll get the chance to return to Kyrgyzstan soon, if ever, unless he returns in Kulov's custody.

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