Foreign Ministers of Kazakhstan, Russia sign Plan of Measures for 2019−2020

On January 28, Foreign Ministers of Kazakhstan and Russia signed a Plan of Measures for 2019−2020, Kazakh media said.

Beibut Atamkulov, newly appointed Kazakh FM, visited Moscow at the invitation of his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov.

During the meeting, the Foreign Minister of Russia said he highly appreciates the cooperation between the foreign ministries and believes it will be further boosted by the Plan of Measures for 2019−2020 they signed on Monday.

“We cherish Kazakhstan’s efforts to strengthen its international positions, primarily the performance of Kazakhstani diplomats in 2017−2018 when their country held a non-permanent seat on the UN Security Council. Our Kazakhstani friends implemented all the priorities of Kazakhstan’s OSCE Chairmanship last year. In particular, 12 joint statements on crucial international matters were adopted last year” Lavrov said.

The sides discussed promoting integration within the framework of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) and the role the EAEU countries’ foreign ministries in this regard.

Foreign Ministers also discussed situation in Afghanistan, in particular in light of the challenges and threats to security coming from it and the two countries' readiness to facilitate a political settlement in this vital member of a neighboring region.

“We noted the effectiveness of the Astana venue created for talks on a Syrian settlement. The guarantor countries’ efforts made in this format in hospitable Kazakhstan have launched a political process that is now growing on the basis of intra-Syrian agreements reached following the Syrian National Dialogue Congress. Preparations are underway for the next meeting in the Astana format, which is scheduled for February,” Lavrov said.