Kazakhstan gets note from Ukraine after abstaining at UN General Assembly voting

On March 27 Tthe UN General Assembly adopted a resolution Territorial integrity of Ukraine by a vote of 100 in favour, 11 against and 58 abstentions.

Kazakhstan was among the nations that abstained from the voting. Kairat Abdrakhmanov, Kazakhstan’s permanent representative in the UN, said that his country was home to Kazakhs, Russians, Ukrainians, Tatars, Germans, Poles, Koreans and others who lived in peace and harmony. 

In return Ukraine sent a diplomatic note to Kazakhstan, expressing concerns over the statements made by President Nazarbayev during a briefing at the global nuclear security summit in The Hague. 

At that briefing Nazarbayev said that Ukrainian political leadership has been swaying from one side to other between the European Union and Russia. The people and the country found themselves divided into two parts, which eventually led to an unconstitutional takeover. 

"We were perplexed by the diplomatic note that we received from the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry. Obviously it’s sending was driven by overt emotions, rather than common sense," the official representative of Kazakhstan Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. 

"Kazakhstan represented by His Excellency Minister of Foreign Affairs has expressed its position that in essence comes down to not continuing the confrontation on this issue.... both Ukrainian and Kazakhstan diplomats intend to solve all the problems, including the sensitive ones that arise between our countries, through normal diplomatic means," Ukraine’s temporary charge d'affaires in Kazakhstan agreed later the same day.