Kazakh President: No alternative to peaceful negotiations in Ukraine

President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev paid special attention to the situation in Ukraine during the extended government meeting on Wednesday. Apart from reorganizing the government and abolishing financial police, the President expressed his concern over the conflict in Ukraine and called for a peaceful solution to the crisis in the country that has “human bonds” with Kazakhstan, Tengrinews reports.

"Although our meeting is devoted to the economy, I will say a few words about the situation that has developed in the region and Kazakhstan cannot be silent about. I am talking about the conflict in Ukraine, which is one of the most important partners of Kazakhstan. This situation puts the economy of Ukraine on the brink of disaster. According official forecasts of the government of this country, a decline in GDP by the end of the year will make at least six percent because of the conflict. The inflation rate will escalate to 20 percent. The national currency may be heavily depreciated. This cannot but keep us on the alert, we cannot ignore the situation,” Nazarbayev said.

"As we all know, Ukraine is part of the CIS free trade zone. We are connected to this country and its people by economic and human bonds, trade contacts, and human destinies are at stake. All this creates serious concern among Kazakhstanis; we empathize with the tragedies of the people in Ukraine. We sincerely urge all the parties to the conflict to sit at the negotiation table and find acceptable solutions on the basis of trust and open dialogue to stop the bloodshed, especially of women and children. I believe there is no other reasonable alternative. On my part, I urge all sides [to search for a peaceful solution], and to the best of my abilities I am engaged in the process of finding the solution,” he continued.

According to Nursultan Nazarbayev, peace is the primary goal of all the government agencies and public institutions of Kazakhstan. They should all work towards preserving harmony, accord and security in the country.

"Today it is important to continue strengthening the unity of political parties, public associations, trade unions, NGOs, to guide the work of all the media towards the common good of our country. There is an enormous scope of work to be done for Nur Otan (ruling party), it is necessary to step up the work with the public, especially to address the existing problems in the regions," Nazarbayev declared.

Reporting by Assemgul Kassenova, writing by Dinara Urazova