WASHINGTON, USA - The United States wants Kyrgyzstan to evolve toward a democracy, but will side with neither the country's ousted president nor the opposition, the US State Department said on Wednesday.

'We want to see Kyrgyzstan continue to evolve toward a democracy,' said spokesman Philip Crowley, in response to questions about Washington's position after a political uprising that deposed President Kurmanbek Bakiyev.

'We want to see the situation resolved peacefully. And we're not taking sides,' he added.

On Wednesday, US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Robert Blake met with opposition leaders in Bishkek, and offered cautious US support, including help organizing new elections.

Crowley told reporters that Blake had not tried to arrange a meeting with Bakiyev, who opposition leaders have said should be required to stand trial.

The State Department spokesman declined to specify exactly whether the United States still regarded Bakiyev as the rightful head of state, saying his status was 'obviously open to question.'

A senior US diplomatic source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, pointed out that US and international opinions of Bakiyev were less important than those of his fellow countrymen.

'I don't think President Bakiyev's primary problem is a lack of international support, it's a lack of domestic support.'

The United States has sought to tread carefully in the wake of the turmoil that forced Bakiyev to flee the capital, hoping to preserve its relations with Kyrgyzstan, which hosts a key US airbase at Manas -' an essential transit point for US troops going to Afghanistan.