Vladimir Putin: Dear Nursultan Abishevich!
Dear gentlemen!
Today we had constructive and, as always, substantial and frank negotiations. We exchanged opinions on almost the whole range of issues in which our countries cooperate. This concerns our trade and economic relations, energy, oil and gas sectors, military and technological cooperation and cultural exchanges.
Once again I shall emphasize what has already been obvious for a long time: Russia and Kazakhstan have a long-standing, very successful experience of cooperation and for this reason each of our meetings results in new projects, arrangements, and a higher level of dialogue.
Today I would especially like to point out how strong our economic contacts have become and, as a result, the significant growth in our volume of trade. Last year it increased significantly and reached almost ten billion dollars. And the most important thing is that we and our Kazakhstan partners have a shared understanding of what to do in the future, of how to reach even loftier goals.
I cannot help but draw attention to the documents we just signed. They are designed to develop and improve the legal basis for Russian-Kazakhstan cooperation and considerably help our relations develop in the widest range of areas. And what is especially important is that we are not only referring to cooperation in the public sectors of the economy but the real effective partnership between our businesses.
The fact that we have common points of view concerning basic international and regional problems acts as a basis for our cooperation as a whole. Our states consistently support each other's initiatives to strengthen integration structures. Today we talked about cooperation within the CIS, Eurasian Economic Community, Collective Security Treaty Organization, and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. Ensuring regional security and stability was the most important theme among those we discussed. In this regard we are convinced adherents of strengthening multilateral ties. We have both the opportunities and the legal bases necessary to develop them.
I must say that Nursultan Abishevich Nazarbaev's visit is not limited to official meetings. Today we took part in uncovering the monument to Kazakhstan's outstanding thinker, Abai Kunanbaev. This evening the opening ceremony for the Year of Abai in Russia and the Year of Pushkin in Kazakhstan will take place. These joint events help consolidate our people's traditional links in the cultural and educational spheres, offer new opportunities for studying their spiritual heritage and, as a whole, will enrich the diverse range of Russian-Kazakhstan relations.
Today you drew attention to the documents that were signed. This is a result of concrete practical work accomplished by large numbers of our experts. And this is, undoubtedly, the result of very close relations between allies and partners, relations that have developed over the past few years.
As an example, we held talks on using military ranges for the needs of the Russian Armed Forces during nine years. Today this document has been signed.
Of course, Nursultan Abishevich and I are overseeing the situation with respect to the development of trade and economic ties but our banks and commercial organizations are developing direct links. This is very good evidence that our relations have already reached a high level. As an example, the company LUKOIL invested three billion USD in Kazakhstan's economy over the last few years. And it is not the only company that is actively working and, even more importantly, actively wishes to work in Kazakhstan, especially since all the necessary conditions to do so now exist.
I would like to thank Nursultan Abishevich for the attention that the President pays to developing Russian-Kazakhstan relations.
Thank you.
Question: The President of Kazakhstan mentioned integration-based organisations. In this respect, how do you see the development prospects for organisations such as the Common Economic Space, the Eurasian Economic Community and the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation?
Vladimir Putin: Regarding the Common Economic Space, we gave it our full attention today. Our experts are currently completing work on a package of 38 documents that are to be signed soon. I am sure that Russia will sign these documents in the near future and that our Kazakhstan friends and partners will do the same, given that it was President Nazarbaev’s initiative to create the Common Economic Space.
Regarding other integration-based organisations, we do not forget about them and indeed consider them to be of great importance in coordinating positions in the post-Soviet area. The level and amount of cooperation between our countries is very high, after all, and so we need instruments that can help us to resolve any problems that arise in order to make progress and best use the competitive advantages that we gain from our infrastructure, our energy resources and from the Russian language that we all share and that enables us to communicate with each other. We will continue to work on consolidating all the integration processes underway in the post-Soviet area.
Three states – Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus – we think will sign very soon the first package of 38 documents that will form the foundation of the Common Economic Space. We will be very happy if our Ukrainian partners sign these documents together with us, but as far I understand from our experts, our Ukrainian friends will be present at the signing and are ready to sign a number of the documents, but not all 38 of them.
Question: Relations between Russia and Kazakhstan have seen unprecedented growth of late. In this context, what development prospects do you see for our bilateral cooperation in the fuel and energy sector?
Vladimir Putin: I fully agree with this assessment of cooperation between Russia and Kazakhstan in the fuel and energy sector. At the same time, I want to say that our cooperation is not limited to this sector.
You have just witnessed the signing here of documents on financial cooperation, on cooperation between various agencies and companies. This also includes building industrial facilities on Kazakhstan’s territory. We cooperate in a very diverse range of areas, including in high-technology sectors and in space. But the energy sector is undoubtedly one of the most important areas of our cooperation today and here too our ties are very diverse. We are working not just in the area of fossil fuels but, as my colleague just said, also in the areas of electricity generation and nuclear energy – areas in which Kazakhstan has great potential. We have all the possibilities we need and we have already agreed that we will combine our efforts in these areas. We are natural partners for each other in the nuclear energy sector and we have very good prospects ahead of us.
As for fossil fuels – oil and gas – we are working together in several different areas.
First, we are working together on developing major deposits. Russia’s work with Kazakhstan is important to us because it is very substantial, but also because it is a good example for cooperation between Russia and other countries. For many years our two countries argued, for example, about what to do with the Kurmangazy deposit, the largest oilfield in the Caspian. We could not agree on where to draw the border between our countries there. But then Nursultan Abishevich and I agreed that the border is not so much the issue because the real dispute was always over the way to exploit Kurmangazy oilfield, and so we decided to go fifty-fifty in the deposit’s exploitation and the border issue was immediately resolved. So, working together on developing large energy deposits is one area where we cooperate.
Creating joint transport infrastructure or using each other’s transport infrastructure to expand the possibilities for delivering our products to world markets is the second area in which we cooperate. Exchange of energy resources is the third area. Given the size of both Russia and Kazakhstan, it makes more economic sense in some parts of Kazakhstan to receive gas from Russia, and for some parts of Russia to receive their gas supplies from Kazakhstan. This works out cheaper and more effective. But all of this is just the beginning, just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to energy cooperation. In reality, our cooperation goes a lot deeper and has a lot more substance.