March 23 (Bloomberg) -- Kyrgyzstan's government should address opposition charges of irregularities in this month's parliamentary elections and start talks to end unrest in southern towns, the U.S. State Department said.

The U.S. sent Nicholas Burns, its undersecretary for political affairs, to Kyrgyzstan's capital, Bishkek, yesterday to call on the government of President Askar Akayev to open talks, State Department spokesman Adam Ereli said in an e-mailed statement sent today from Washington.

``The United States urges opposition leaders to join this dialogue without preconditions,'' Ereli said in the statement. ``We condemn the use of force by any side and the seizure and destruction of government property.''

Opposition supporters have occupied government offices in southern towns to protest the March 13 run-off elections that were won by parties backing Akayev, who has ruled the central Asian nation of 5 million people since 1991. Akayev yesterday said he won't resign and called on opposition groups to settle differences through negotiations, Interfax reported.

Addressing voting irregularities will ``lay the groundwork for free and fair presidential elections'' scheduled for October, Ereli said in his statement.

Burns yesterday met Alikbek Djekshenkulov, Akayev's foreign policy adviser, according to the statement. United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan on May 21 called on both sides to exercise restraint.

Opposition Protests

Opposition supporters took over government offices in a third southern town late yesterday, Interfax reported. The protesters occupied offices in Kyzyl-Kiya, the news agency said, citing unidentified police officials. Protests have taken place in Osh and Jalal-Abad in recent days.

``All problems should be settled in a political way and through negotiations,'' Akayev said yesterday in an address on national television, according to Interfax. Opposition groups, though, have a variety of demands and ``it is unclear who to negotiate with,'' Interfax cited Akayev as saying.

The president told parliament yesterday he won't declare a state of emergency in Kyrgyzstan, saying the protests are aimed at making the government use force, Interfax reported.

Akayev, 60, last week warned of a possible civil war and has said that popular protests such as those that resulted in leadership changes in the former Soviet republics of Ukraine last year and in Georgia in 2003 won't be tolerated in Kyrgyzstan.

Akayev has said he won't stand in presidential elections scheduled for October.

About 50 percent of Kyrgyzstan's population lived below the poverty line in 2003, according to U.S. government data. The country's economy depends on agricultural production with cotton and tobacco its main exports.

To contact the reporter on this story: Paul Tighe in Sydney at ptighe@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: March 23, 2005 00:01 EST