Kazakhstan supports the proposal of Russian President Vladimir Putin to create a "some kind of trilateral union" of the Russian Federation, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, including to address the gas sector-related issues, Interfax reported on Monday with reference to the President of Kazakhstan, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.
“Yes, there are matters that require negotiations. In particular, we are talking about the gas sector. But here we are not dramatizing any issues. I just told Vladimir Putin that there were such issues, they require discussion, but absolutely without any dramatization. These are routine issues,” Tokayev said at a meeting with Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin on Monday following Russian-Kazakh top-level talks in Moscow.
The President of Kazakhstan expressed confidence that the parties "will reach relevant agreements."
“Today Vladimir Vladimirovich said that we need to create some kind of tripartite union, and he was going to call the President of Uzbekistan [Shavkat Mirziyoyev]. We also need to delve into this topic, in any case, me, in order to come to the desired results and agreements. In principle, we are ready for this. Why not,” RIA Novosti quotes him.
The press service of the President of Kazakhstan, in a statement following the meeting with Vladimir Putin, did not mention the discussion of the creation of the union and issues in the gas sector. The Kremlin press service also did not report this.
The visit of the President of Kazakhstan to Moscow was his first foreign visit after his re-election. At a meeting with the leaders of Russia, he said that this event "in itself had a deep political significance", "a certain symbolism."
“For Kazakhstan, the Russian Federation had been and remained the main strategic partner, a country with which we have deep relationships in various industries ... There is every reason to be satisfied with how cooperation between countries is developing. At the same time, you need to look ahead, and it is for this purpose that I have come here,” Kassym-Jomart Tokayev emphasized.
