Nazarbayev and Putin discuss Ukraine

Kazakhstan’s President Nursultan Nazarbayev and Russian President Vladimir Putin have discussed the crisis in Ukraine in a telephone conversation, Tengrinews reports citing Akorda.

Kazakh and Russian leaders discussed the situation in Ukraine, in particular the international efforts undertaken to achieve peace in Ukraine in line with the agreements reached in Minsk on February 12.

Nazarbayev and Putin also dwelt on the problems in the integration within the Eurasian Economic Union.

Besides, Putin confirmed his intention to take part in the meeting of the leaders of Kazakhstan, Belarus and Russia in Astana, which is scheduled for March.

On the same day, Nursultan Nazarbayev had a phone conversation with Belarus’s President Alexander Lukashenko, during which they discussed the current issues related to the Kazakh-Belorussian cooperation within the Eurasian Economic Union. The two sides agreed to continue the discussion at the coming meeting of the leaders in Astana.

The achievement of the agreement in Minsk on February 12 is itself a step forward in the settlement of the crisis in Ukraine after the previous Minsk agreement as of September 15, 2014 failed to stop the fighting. Therefore, its implementaion is now of utmost importance for the resolution of the conflict in Ukraine.

However, recently, during the government meeting at the Majilis, the lower chamber of Kazakhstan's Parliament, Foreign Minister of Kazakhstan Yerlan Idrissov expressed concerns over the implementation of the agreement on Ukraine signed in Minsk. 

“The conflict in Ukraine became a real endurance test for the whole system of diplomacy. The situation has deteriorated significantly since the beginning of the year. We all are holding our breath as we are observing the process of restoration of peace. The news is unfortunately not very good. There are concerns that the complex agreement aimed at maintaining peace and terminating hostilities might fail for various reasons,” Idrissov said then.

By Assel Satubaldina