Kyrgyz President Sooronbay Jeenbekov said on Thursday he was ready to step down as soon as legitimate leaders are appointed and order is restored in the country.

In a statement posted on the president's website, Jeenbekov said he was ready to resign from the presidency as soon as the current situation is brought to the legal field, all government agencies have legal status and the country is on the right path.

"We need to return the current situation to the legal domain. As soon as legitimate chiefs of executive bodies are appointed and the country returns to the path of law and order, I'm ready to step down as the president of Kyrgyzstan," he said in the statement. 

Jeenbekov's remarks came amid the political turmoil in Kyrgyzstan following disputed parliamentary elections held on Sunday. Protesters broke into government and state security headquarters building and freed former President Almazbek Atambayev from a detention center on Tuesday. The country's Central Election Commission later annulled the results of the elections. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Kubatbek Boronov and Speaker of the Parliament Dastan Dzhumabekov announced their resignations.

Stressing that the political situation in the central Asian country has reached a "critical point," Jeenbekov said new parliamentary elections should be scheduled, which "would ease the current political tensions." 

"A decision on the matter is to be made by the Central Election Commission," he said. "At the same time, we need to sack the prime minister and members of his cabinet, who worked before the crisis, thus creating legitimate grounds for new appointments." 

He added that a parliamentary ruling and a presidential decree are needed to legitimize the appointment of the new prime minister and cabinet members. 

"I'm ready to sign relevant documents and I'm waiting for a Jogorku Kenesh (parliament) ruling," the president said. 

Jeenbekov became Kyrgyzstan's president in November 2017, succeeding Atambayev. Atambayev was detained last year and charged with using force against law enforcement agents, organizing mass riots, a murder and an attempted murder, hostage taking, illegal release of a crime boss and other crimes, including corruption. He denied all the charges against him for being politically motivated.

Commenting on the political crisis in Kyrgyzstan, Russian President Vladimir Putin called for a peaceful resolution on Wednesday. 

"We hope that a normal democratic political process will be restored. And this should happen as soon as possible," Putin said in an interview with Rossiya-1 TV channel. 

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said on Wednesday that China hopes Kyrgyzstan will restore stability as soon as possible. 

China sincerely hopes that all parties in Kyrgyzstan can properly resolve the problem in accordance with the law through dialogue and consultation, she said in a statement.

(Cover: Kyrgyzstan's President Sooronbay Jeenbekov speaks after a vote at parliamentary elections in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, October 4, 2020. /Reuters)