Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov criticized the statement by a European Union (EU) official on Kyrgyzstan's political crisis, saying the comments are "counter-productive", a ministry statement said on Wednesday.

The ministry cited Lavrov as saying that the statement made by EU foreign policy and security chief Javier Solana contains "inappropriate assessments" of the events in Kyrgyzstan and the reasons behind them, stressing that "public statements which can be used by the opposition to escalate tensions are counter-productive."

The ministry pointed out that an objective assessment of the actions of the forces which have violated the constitution and the law is needed and a solution in compliance with the law is the only option.

Lavrov's remark came after Solana's statement circulated in Brussels on March 21, which expressed concern over the fact that the parliamentary elections in Kyrgyzstan did not meet the requirements of OSCE and other international standards in some keyregions.

Thousands of opposition supporters rallied in Kyrgyzstan on Monday, seizing government buildings in the latest protests demanding the resignation of President Askar Akayev over allegations of fraud in the parliamentary elections.

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov also expressed concern Wednesday over Kyrgyzstan's unrest and called on the opposition to negotiate with the authorities.

"What is going on in the southern part of that country has longspread beyond the legal framework," Ivanov was cited by Itar-Tass news agency as saying.

"The so-called opposition, which lost control of everything ong ago, will have enough wisdom to calm down and transfer the situation into a political dialogue," he said.