Russia and Kazakhstan to enhance ties between experts

Kazakh Foreign Minister Yerlan Idrison has met with Russian experts in Moscow. The meeting was attended by the editor-in-chief of the Vestnik Kavkaza news agency, Dr. Alexey Vlasov.

Idrisov told the Russian experts that he and his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov agreed not to create a negative atmosphere over the issue of Baikonur and not to politicize the issue. Apparently, the issues that remain unresolved are those concerning the financial side of the problem - the amount that Russia provides for the cosmodrome's lease and maintenance of the infrastructure of the city, to the payment of pensions. It turns out that Moscow and Astana both have unanswered questions.

However, Idrisov believes that these issues have to be resolved through negotiations and one should not create unnecessary tension in the media.

Dr. Vlasov suggested that special attention should be paid to communication between experts, not only over integration issues, but also over the issues of Caspian cooperation. Lack of contact between experts leads to a shortage of information on mutual intentions and causes growing distrust. Idrisov agreed that the issue of communication between experts has not yet been adequately discussed, noting that such a situation is unacceptable for close partners.