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Ukraine should first elect a legal head of state – Kazakh President

Kazakhstan Materials 26 March 2014 12:36 (UTC +04:00)
The President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev speaking at a briefing following a meeting at The Hague, remarked about the situation in Ukraine.
Ukraine should first elect a legal head of state – Kazakh President

Astana, Kazakhstan, March 26

By Daniyar Mukhtarov - Trend:

The President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev speaking at a briefing following a meeting at The Hague, remarked about the situation in Ukraine.

He recalled that tension is being observed today between Western countries and Russia in connection with the situation around Crimea.

"In recent days everyone is talking about international law and we can observe dangerous precedents of its violation," he said. "This leads to a decade rollback of the economy of the countries involved in conflicts.

"At the same time, whilst speaking about the situation in Ukraine, it should be noted that in Soviet times the economy of this country was second after Russia. The republic had great potential. But in recent years the political leadership of Ukraine fluctuated either towards strengthening relations with Europe, or in the direction towards development of cooperation with Russia and Eurasian integration all the time.

"In fact, the people and the country divided into two parts. As a result, the internal political situation became out of control. And the primary task for today is return to the legal field which means holding elections. A legitimate president, parliament and government should be elected. Then it is necessary to hold peace talks on this basis and jointly find a way out of this situation."

The Kazakh president also noted that Ukraine has still not resolved the issue on determination of its border with Russia and that will be a stumbling block in relations between the states. He reminded those present that Kazakhstan has resolved similar issues with Russia, with China and its other neighbours.

"The foreign policy of Kazakhstan is based on balance and is multidirectional. The internal situation in the country is based on equality and respect for the rights of all citizens, regardless of language, religion and culture which in the modern world is the main factor that contributes towards peace and stability. On this basis a state can develop sustainably. The practice once again confirms the correctness of the pursued policy in our country. Peace, harmony and unity of the people are needed for development. So I assure all colleagues from foreign countries of the need for peace negotiations," Nazarbayev said.

He emphasised that the events happening in Ukraine will not affect the course of the integration process and that the work on signing the main contract for the establishment of a Eurasian Economic Union continues.

"Integration makes it possible to remove trade barriers and increase competitiveness. Therefore, we have here the purely pragmatic interests of developing countries, boosting the economy and increasing the GDP. As regard to our political independence, it is constant and Kazakhstan will give sovereignty no one. However, we will voluntarily transfer certain economic powers to supranational authorities as is done for example in the European Union, where the European Commission works out customs issues, regulates trade, tariffs, transportation of oil and gas, electricity, railways and highways. All the issues in our future Union will be decided at the consensus. A final decision will be made with the consent of all three states. Therefore, there should not be any disruption, as it is beneficial to all participants and especially during the crisis. The integration process will move forward and this is also an issue of strengthening our independence," the head of state said.

Concerning the possibility of introducing a number of economic sanctions against the Russian Federation, Kazakhstan's president expressed the opinion that they will not have a direct impact on the country. However, Nazarbayev noted that the decrease in the dynamics and deterioration of Russia's economic development may affect the economy of Kazakhstan as well.

"But all the years of independence, Kazakhstan has pursued a policy of diversification of trade and economic relations. Today we too continue to develop our transport and logistics system that allows us to interact effectively with all countries of the world," Kazakh president noted.

Nazarbayev also drew attention to the fact that multi-polarity of the modern world requires an appropriate format of decision-making.

"G8 and G20 have resolved either economic issues or political crises. Therefore, the initiative of G-Global is very important where 190 countries participate interactively. It is also necessary to consider the opinions of a wide range of nations of the world and in this context the G-Global platform is becoming extremely urgent," the president said.

At the end, Nazarbayev emphasised the importance of addressing all the issues without confrontation and global shocks on the basis of a balance of mutual interests.

Translated by S.I.
Edited by S.M..

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