MOSCOW, March 25 (Xinhuanet) -- Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday regretted over the Kyrgyzstan crisis and urged the opposition leaders fresh in power to restore stability in the Central Asian country.

    "The situation where one of the former Soviet countries has resorted to unlawful means to settle its political problems causedour regret," Putin said during his visit to Yerevan, the capital city of Armenia, which is also an ex-Soviet republic, according tothe Interfax news agency.

    "It (the crisis) is being accompanied by destruction and human casualties," he said, attributing the turmoil in Kyrgyzstan to weakness of the authorities and the accumulated socioeconomic problems.

    Putin said he hopes the Kyrgyz opposition leaders will soon bring the situation under control and understand their responsibilities for the people, noting he is ready to cooperate with the Kyrgyz opposition.

    Kyrgyz opposition leader Kurmanbek Bakiyev, who is deputy head of the People's Movement of Kyrgyzstan, said Friday he had been named both acting president and prime minister by parliament.

    President Askar Akayev and his family left the country to Kazakhstan after opposition protesters seized main government buildings and the national television station in the capital Bishkek.

    Putin said Moscow will have no objection if Akayev wants to come to Russia.

    The opposition in Kyrgyzstan started gathering after the Feb. 27 parliamentary election, alleging the poll was flawed. Rallies escalated after the March 13 run-offs, with opposition taking control of government buildings and airports in some southern regions. Enditem