Kazakhstan welcomes Geneva agreement on Ukraine

    By Dinara Urazova
    Astana has expressed its support for the document that contains steps to stabilize Ukraine adopted on April 17 in Geneva, Tengrinews reports citing a news statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
    The quadrilateral negotiations between Ukraine, Russia, the United States and European Union in Geneva lasted for more than seven hours. As a result, the parties agreed on the need to disarm illegal groups, clear the squares and streets of protesters and declare an amnesty.
    Kazakhstan’s Foreign Ministry called the decision "a sign of wisdom and readiness to constructively resolve disagreements". “We hope these arrangements will be the beginning on a path towards reconciliation and stabilization. We support these agreements and hope all the parties will continue practicing tolerance and wisdom. To the extent possible and when needed, we are ready to support the efforts of the parties," Kazakhstan's statement.
    A representative of Kazakhstan is part of the OSCE Monitoring Mission in Ukraine. Kazakhstan also intends to participate in the observation of elections in this country as part of the relevant OSCE delegation.
    Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov had previously announced the Geneva document called for an immediate start of talks between all of the country’s regions in a constitutional manner, and said that recognition by all the parties that the crisis "should be settled by Ukrainians themselves” was the main achievement of the Geneva negotiations.
    The Ukrainians themselves should deal with disagreements over the detention of protesters, lifting the occupation of various buildings and squares, and in the long-run start constitutional reform, he said, adding that Russia had no intent to send troops to Ukraine.
    The statements of the Russian Minister and the position of the Kazakhstani Ministry are coherent with the stand taken by Kazakhstan’s President Nazarbayev on April 18, when he asserted the people of Ukraine had to resolve the crisis without outside interference.
    "We are sure that the Ukrainian people should solve their internal problems without outside interference through peaceful negotiations with all the parties (to the conflict),” Nazarbayev stated during the session of the Assembly of People of Kazakhstan last week, according to www.tengrinews.kz.