Kazakhstan Not Planning to Create or Join a Union State, Says Presidential Spokesman

Kazakhstan's President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev's press secretary, Ruslan Zheldibay, commented on the leader's recent speech, stating that Kazakhstan does not intend to create a union state or join an existing one. Instead, he advocates for the differentiation of initiatives within the frameworks of two integration projects that have entirely different goals.

As reported by rus.azattyq.org, during the recent Eurasian Economic Forum held in Moscow, Tokayev discussed the conceptual and ideological foundations of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), noting the need to consider the existence of a union state in the context of Belarus and Russia.

“During the event, the president made several statements that are widely discussed today within the expert community. In this regard, I want to emphasize that the key message from the head of state was that integration within the EAEU can and should proceed exclusively along economic lines. Stepping outside this framework violates the goals, principles, and tasks outlined in the organization's foundational documents,” Zheldibay wrote on his Facebook page.

He also pointed out that “today, two EAEU members, Russia and Belarus, demonstrate a higher and closer level of rapprochement.”

“As the head of state mentioned, we are indeed talking about one people and one state. In this regard, it is crucial to distinguish between initiatives within the frameworks of two integration projects that have entirely different purposes. As for our country, Kazakhstan does not intend to create or join any union state,” Zheldibay’s statement concluded.