BISHKEK -- Kyrgyz Justice Minister Almambet Shykmamatov has filed a letter of resignation amid a standoff with the president's chief of staff.
Shykmamatov told RFE/RL on February 3 that he handed his resignation letter to Prime Minister Joomart Otorbaev, saying earlier that he was stepping down because he refused to apologize to presidential administration head Daniyar Narymbaev.
Shykmamatov was quoted by a Kyrgyz newspaper as saying Narymbaev's political intrigues were responsible for Prosecutor-General Aida Salyanova's decision to resign last month.
Shykmamatov said he was misquoted by the newspaper but he rejected Narymbaev's demand that he apologize.
Salyanova resigned on January 19 amid reports that her husband, Bakyt Abdykaparov, an aide to Shykmamatov, was a suspect in a case of fraud and abuse of office.
Salyanova told RFE/RL on January 20 that the allegations against her husband are "lies" and some day "all circumstances of the case against him will become public."
