The President of Kyrgyzstan has invited the country's opposition into government, following the resignation of the entire cabinet on Wednesday.

We must find strength and courage to step over emotions

President Askar Akayev

"I am ready for the most comprehensive co-operation with parliament and all major political and public forces," President Askar Akayev said as he met several opposition deputies.

The government stood down after a state commission's report blamed officials for the deaths of five demonstrators shot by police in March.

The protests were in support of an opposition politician, who has been accused of abuse of power, for which he was sentenced to a year in jail on Friday.

The sentence against Azimbek Beknazarov, the southern Dzhalalabad region's parliamentary deputy, was suspended but correspondents say he is likely to lose his seat in parliament.

As Mr Beknazarov's supporters prepared to reinstate the road blocks in the south they have imposed in the last few weeks, President Akayev appealed to the opposition to co-operate.

"If we go ahead with our standoff, we will not avoid another big tragedy. I believe the opposition must muster up its will and draw its own conclusions," he said. "We must find strength and courage to step over emotions."

The opposition is yet to respond to his offer that they help form a broad-based ruling coalition.

Report findings

An official report released on Wednesday found several presidential and local officials, and secret police, guilty of unlawful detentions and the illegal use of firearms during a protest in Dzhalalabad in March over Mr Beknazarov's arrest.

President Akayev: Once hailed as a reformer

There have been subsequent demonstrations in the capital, Bishkek and a blockade of the country's main north-south road, in support of Mr Beknazarov.

Mr Beknazarov's supporters say the charges against him are politically motivated.

The protesters have also been demanding the cancellation of a deal to transfer disputed territory to neighbouring China - a treaty Mr Beknazarov had opposed - and for President Akayev to resign.

President Akayev was hailed by Western governments in the early 1990s as a reformer, but he has increasingly cracked down on dissent in recent years.

This year's protests have been the first major public display of discontent with his rule.