Ukraine Crisis: Kazakh President Urges EU And Russia To Arrive At A Compromise

Amidst the rising temperature between the European Union and Russia over Ukraine, Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbaev has called for lifting of Russia sanctions and asked the West to seek a compromise with Moscow over the Ukraine crisis.

Addressing a joint news conference with visiting French President Francois Hollande on Dec 6, at the Kazakh capital Astana, Nazarbaev said Russia and the West must try to find a common ground "to resolve this crisis." He urged the Western countries to desist from angering Russia and said a "compromise and a way out of this impasse" was essential, reports RFERL News. The Kazakh leader noted that confrontation over Ukraine "has not helped anyone, but only brought negative effects on the international political situation and hit the economy of Europe, Asia, and the world."

Russia Not Hit

Mr Nazarbaev said pushing each other into a corner with sanctions has not helped as the impact of Western sanctions on Russia has been limited. This is because Russia is "not very strongly integrated" into the world economy. The Kazakh leader defended President Vladimir Putin, who is the object of criticism by the West over Russia's annexation of Crimea. He called Putin "a liberal statesman" and said Putin's policies enjoyed the support of a mjority of Russian citizens. Hollande was on a two-day visit to boost bilateral trade and political ties. The Kazakh president's press service quoted Hollande as saying that Kazakhstan had a "special role" in defusing tensions with Moscow over the crisis in Ukraine.

French Promise

The French President reiterated the EU's position that Ukraine's territorial integrity has to be preserved even if the eastern regions had to be provided with "a certain degree of autonomy." French President Francois Hollande pledged to work towards a "de-escalation" of the crisis in eastern Ukraine. "We are going to work together and will find all the points that will allow... for de-escalation in Ukraine's east", Hollande said. The French president added that the conflict posed serious threats to the economy of the entire region, reported Press TV.

Nazarbayev, 74, has been ruling Kazakhstan since the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1989. He now faces serious criticism over abuse of human rights. The New York-based Human Rights Watch had urged Mr Hollande to take up a "number of concerns" over the human rights situation in Kazakhstan such as impunity for torture, imprisonment of government critics, gagging of media and quelling of the freedom of expression. However, in the press conference, Mr Nazarbaev asserted that rights and freedoms enjoyed by Kazakhs are "much better than some European countries."