BISHKEK, February 28. /TASS/. Russia will support Kyrgyzstan on its way to integration in the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), President Vladimir Putin said.
"We know how difficult our talks on (Kyrgyzstan’s) joining the Eurasian Economic Union were going, how emotionally and also rather toughly the Kyrgyz president protected the interests of his country," Putin said during the talks with Kyrgyz President Almazbek Atambayev that were held in an extended format.
The Russian president noted that such agreements are always a compromise, which suits all the parties involved in the negotiations.
"I would like to note that Russia chairs the Eurasian Economic Union this year. I wish you success and we will do our best to support this process," Putin said.
Putin recalled that special instruments were created to ease the integration of Kyrgyzstan in the EAEU and to help the country's economy adjust to the rules of the economic bloc.
Putin noted that this year marks the 25th anniversary since the establishment of diplomatic relations between Russia and Kyrgyzstan.
"During this period a long way has been made in development of relations between Russia and independent Kyrgyzstan. A lot has been done, although this path is not easy: the establishment of the statehood is a struggling process, however, we are very glad that the situation in Kyrgyzstan has stabilized and that the state is developing as a democracy," Putin said.
In his turn, Atambayev expressed confidence in further development of the strategic alliance between the two countries. He also stressed that the process of Kyrgyzstan’s entry to the EAEU brings the relations to a higher level.
"I want to thank the Russian party and Vladimir Putin for the support and assistance that you provide to our country in this difficult period of transition. I can openly say that only thanks to the political will of the president of Russia the Russian-Kyrgyz Development Fund was established with the capital of $500 mln," Atambayev said.
He added that Kyrgyzstan also received a $200 mln worth technical assistance to solve the issues related to the country’s integration into EAEU.
"I am confident that before the end of the year with the help of the brotherly Russia, we will solve all the remaining issues regarding (Kyrgyzstan’s) full-fledged entry into the Eurasian Economic Union," Atambayev said.
The Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) is an international integration economic association of Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Armenia and Kyrgyzstan. The EAEU came into existence from January 1, 2015 having superseded the Eurasian Economic Community (EurAaEC) that functioned from 2000 to 2014.