BISHKEK, July 11: Kyrgyzstan’s foreign ministry has decided to expel two US diplomats from this ex-Soviet republic for ‘inappropriate’ contacts with non-governmental organisations, an official said on Tuesday.

“A decision has been taken, but the diplomats remain in the country” for now, said Tursunbek Akun, head of the official Human Rights Commission.

A US embassy official confirmed the expulsion decision, while an embassy statement that referred to ‘reports’ about the expulsion of its two diplomats denied the allegations against them as ‘simply not true’.

“This can be seen as an attempt to intimidate embassies and silence the voice of civil society,” the statement said.—AP