Kazakhstan should always remember the support of Russian and Chinese leaders in clarifying state borders after the republic gained its sovereignty, the country's first president, Nursultan Nazarbayev, said in an article titled "Lessons of Independence" published on Monday.
"We inherited a huge territory from our ancestors. But the rights to it were not enshrined in international documents neither in tsarist times nor during the existence of the USSR. It was not an easy task to organize a constructive negotiation process along the entire 14,000-kilometer-long perimeter of our borders. I must say that we did it thanks to our two great neighbors, Russia and China, whose leaders supported our independence since the first days, as well as the process of clarifying our borders," he wrote on the eve of the 30th anniversary of Kazakhstan's independence, which will be marked on December 16-17.
Nazarbayev reminded that the total border of the republic with Russia is about 7.5 thousand kilometers and it became the belt of friendship and trust. In addition, historical agreements were reached on 1.7 thousand kilometers of border with China. "This has determined a constructive attitude to border issues and all other neighboring countries. We should always appreciate and remember with gratitude the support of Russia and President Vladimir Putin and the leadership of China at that important moment in our history," the first head of state said.
According to him, having created an atmosphere of mutual understanding and respect for the interests of the parties during the negotiations, Kazakhstan has consistently concluded international treaties and finally defined its state border. "Thus, in order to fulfill the sacred precepts of our ancestors, and at the same time to save future generations from even greater difficulties, we have untied all the problematic knots and brought the started work to its logical conclusion," he pointed out.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: official website of the President of the Russian Federation
Based on materials from TASS