VIDEO: Dear Nikol Vovayi. Nazarbayev to Pashinyan

There has never been any problem between Kazakhstan and Armenia; we have had good relations. This was stated by the First President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev during a meeting with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, who is on a working visit to Kazakhstan.

Welcoming the Armenian Prime Minister in the Republic of Kazakhstan, Nursultan Nazarbayev noted:

“Dear Nikol Vovayi, thank you for coming to participate in the jubilee summit of the Eurasian Economic Union. There has never been any problem between Kazakhstan and Armenia; we have had good relations. The Armenian diaspora serves as a bridge; the Armenians living here are our citizens—they are Kazakhstani. They unite us. Recently, trade between our countries has increased, but it suffers due to poor logistics. We have things to exchange: what you have, we don't, and what we have, you don't, so we need to work in that direction.

You know that I made that decision after deep consideration. When you reach my experience and age, you will better understand me. On June 20, my thirty years of leadership in Kazakhstan would have been completed. At that time, the Soviet Union still existed. In 1989, I was elected the First Secretary of the Communist Party of Kazakhstan, and prior to that, I was a government representative. Therefore, I have worked hard, seen a lot, and the whole of Kazakhstan knows me, and in the last years of independence, we managed to achieve a lot—essentially raising Kazakhstan's status and making the country known around the world. I felt it was time to peacefully hand over the leadership. At the same time, I continue to work. Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has worked with me for 30 years; I know him, he is a very prepared and educated person. I am confident that our relations with Armenia will be just as good as they were before.

Expressing gratitude to Nursultan Nazarbayev for the warm welcome, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan noted: “Thank you, Nursultan Abishevich. Of course, I am glad to see you and visit your country, the capital of which you constructed. You are a political leader who symbolizes an entire era. You mentioned that you were the leader of Kazakhstan during the Soviet years. You were among the first leaders to sign the Belavezha Accords, afterward participating in the process of the formation of the CIS, and you then took an active part in the creation of the CSTO. Armenia is a member of the CIS and a founding member of the CSTO. It is well known that you proposed the idea of Eurasian integration. This year marks the 25th anniversary of that event and the 5th anniversary of the Treaty on the establishment of the EAEU. Of course, we are following with great excitement the events taking place in Kazakhstan and the significant political changes you have initiated.

We are confident that what you have initiated is being done in the interest of Kazakhstan and the Kazakh people. Of course, constitutionally, you continue to remain the leader of the nation and the Chairman of the Security Council. You will continue to play an active role in the EAEU, and tomorrow we will make an appropriate decision about that. From the very beginning, I supported this idea, and I am confident that we will have similarly warm and constructive relations with the new president of Kazakhstan. Yes, we have very good political relations between our countries; unfortunately, we have quite small volumes in the economic sector. I believe that there is now an opportunity to work in that direction, as new opportunities are being created in the 21st century. It is essential that we, our countries, our peoples, and our governments have the political will to develop our relations because we were connected as peoples during the Soviet times and have effectively participated in all joint projects in the post-Soviet region since the collapse of the Soviet Union. We have very warm, good relations, and your personal contribution to this is significant, and I hope and believe that this spirit will continue henceforth.”

Nikol Pashinyan and Nursultan Nazarbayev exchanged thoughts on Armenian-Kazakh relations, discussed the settlement process of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, and emphasized the importance of regional peace and stability.