President Nazarbayev hoping the blanket agreement on neighborly relations between Kazakhstan and Russia in the 21st century will be renewed this year

Kazakhstan’s President Nursultan Nazarbayev within the meeting of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council in Astana met his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin May 29, Tengrinews.kz reports, citing the President’s official website. During the talks the Kazakhstan’s President expressed hope that the blanket agreement on neighborly relations between Kazakhstan and Russia in the 21st century would be signed in the current year. “Our goal is to develop the mutual ties and strengthen the Customs Union. Ukraine and Kyrgyzstan, whose heads are here to participate in the meeting of the Council, are also interested in [integration within the Customs Union]”, the President elaborated. In his turn, Vladimir Putin expressed gratitude for arranging the meeting of the Customs Union member states’ leaders. “We are witnesses to your great personal attention to development of ties between Kazakhstan and Russia. Thanks to your direct involvement, the ties are developing effectively and fast, with the trade turnover on the rise. You are a leader in terms of integration processes. Therefore, it’s natural we have come together here in Astana. I hope the meeting will be fruitful”, he said.