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President Putin arrives in Kyrgyzstan, Kyrgyz president meets him at airport

An agreement on settlement of Kyrgyz debt to Russia is expected to be signed

BISHKEK, September 19 (Itar-Tass) — Russian President Vladimir Putin has arrived in Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan. Kyrgyz President Almazbek Atambayev met the Russian head of state at the airport.

“During his trip to Kyrgyzstan the president will sign a number of Russian-Kyrgyz documents, including inter-governmental agreements on the status and conditions of presence of a Russian military base in the territory of Kyrgyzstan as well as on the construction and operation of the Kambaratinskaya Hydropower Station -1 and the Verkhne-Narynsky cascade of hydropower stations,” presidential aide Yuri Ushakov told journalists earlier on Wednesday.

Also, an agreement on settlement of Kyrgyz debt to Russia is expected to be signed.

Ushakov said that the agenda of the talks included a wide range of issues in the political, military, economic and humanitarian fields.

Vladimir Putin and Kyrgyz President Almazbek Atambayev will discuss prospects of cooperation in integration associations and regional structures.

Besides, the two presidents are expected to discuss fuel and energy cooperation, primarily prospects for advancement of cooperation in electric energy.

Putin has flown to Kyrgyzstan from Kazakhstan where he took part in the work of the IX Forum of Inter-Regional Cooperation of Russia and Kazakhstan.

President Vladimir Putin and his Kazakh opposite number Nursultan Nazarbayev expressed satisfaction with the state of Russian-Kazakh cooperation. “Regional cooperation is, in fact, the key factor for interaction,” Putin said, adding that almost all Russian regions cooperate directly with Kazakhstan. The Russian president recalled that the initiative to set up an inter-regional cooperation forum came from Nazarbayev. Putin said that the mechanism of inter-regional cooperation had played a vital role in organizing the Customs Union of Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus.

Putin said he was happy that countries of the Asia-Pacific region were showing interest in cooperation with the Customs Union of Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus.

Commenting on results of the Inter-Regional Cooperation Forum, President Putin recalled the recent APEC summit in Vladivostok. “Many of our partners paid great attention to the Customs Union and the Common Economic Space,” Putin told journalists. “The Customs Union and questions linked to its work were raised almost at every meeting,” Putin said.

The Russian president believes that innovative cooperation between Russia and Kazakhstan held out good prospects. He called 2012 a landmark year in the history of Russian-Kazakh relations: the two countries will mark the 20th anniversary of the Treaty on friendship, cooperation and reciprocal assistance and the 20th anniversary of establishment of diplomatic relations.