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During the meeting, Vladimir Putin and Nursultan Nazarbayev discussed a wide range of issues in bilateral cooperation, many current international problems, prospects for developing integration processes in Eurasia, and further cooperation in ensuring regional stability and security.

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President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Mr Nazarbayev, we have spent nearly the entire day together. Nevertheless, I would like to once again congratulate you on your decisive victory in the presidential election.

You have a lot of experience, and this was not your first election. But what has happened in your nation in recent years and the way the people of Kazakhstan react to these election campaigns, the way they assess what you have done recently, this is worth a lot.

I am confident that our future bilateral ties will develop with the same energy and with the same result as in previous years.

I want to thank you again for your initiatives concerning the integration processes. It is largely thanks to you that we are taking additional steps today to deepen our economic union. I remember quite well how you put forward the initiative to create the Customs Union, and later our Eurasian Economic Union.

What’s most important is that everything you devised, everything you planned – whether it was related to developing Kazakhstan or integration processes – all of it has come to fruition.

I wish you further success and good luck.

President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev: Thank you, Mr Putin,

Following your invitation, I am making my first official visit outside of Kazakhstan after my victory in the last presidential election. I received your message of congratulations and a phone call, and these meant a great deal to me.

We have been working together for over 15 years – these years have seen a constant reinforcement in the relations between Kazakhstan and Russia. You and I signed an agreement on alliance in the 21^st century, which lays the foundation for all our issues; we have created the Eurasian Economic Union, which has now grown: Armenia was the first to join, and today, we welcomed Kyrgyzstan. In spite of the fact that trade is lagging under crisis conditions, I feel that the Eurasian Economic Union has great promise.

Just look at why many nations want to join us: the People’s Republic of China wants to create a free economic zone, we signed agreements with Vietnam today, Turkey wants to be with us, and India wants to be with us. In other words, this union is in demand, and it is appreciated by others.

I have arrived on the eve of an important celebration, the 70^th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War, where our peoples fought side by side against fascism.

Of course, Russia carried the greatest burden and took the heaviest blow; the Russian people headed this Victory, and I congratulate you with all my heart. There are many guests here today, heads of state who have come to be here.

Certainly, we all face difficulties: the economic crisis, the price drop on our main export products, the sanctions that are unclear and have not been endorsed by the UN and that impede our work.

But Kazakhstan always stands next to Russia as a good neighbour and a friend. And I am confident that together, we will overcome any situation. Our people have been through much worse than what we are experiencing now. And we will certainly overcome this: we live in a different era, in a different time, with different opportunities.

I congratulate you and all the Russian people with all my heart on this great holiday, Victory Day, as well as tomorrow’s parade, in which we will participate, and I wish you all the very best. Our bilateral relations are developing in accordance with our agreements.

Vladimir Putin: Thank you.

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