The Kyrgyz interim government on Wednesday promised to hold parliamentary elections as soon as possible.

The interim government said in a statement that the only path toward the settlement of Kyrgyzstan's current political problems and the restoration of stability in the violence-wracked country was through referendum and parliamentary elections.

Interim authorities will hold elections as soon as a referendum on a new constitution is finished. The exact time for the election will be decided according to the earliest date stipulated by law, the government statement said.

The constitutional referendum will be held June 27, while elections were originally scheduled for Oct. 10.

The statement also said any attempt to overthrow the current government through violence would be disastrous for Kyrgyzstan.

Interim leader Roza Otunbayeva on Tuesday insisted on holding the referendum as planned.

Ethnic clashes began last Thursday in the southern cities of Osh and Jalalabad and escalated over the weekend, with the death toll rising to 187 and thousands of refugees fleeing to neighboring Uzbekistan.

The interim government declared a state of emergency in the Osh region on June 11.