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Kazakh president says signing of Eurasian Economic Union Treaty was major event of 2014

“Open borders, with people, trains and cargoes moving freely - it means that the space has expanded across three states, which is for the good of all of us,” he said.
Kazakhstan’s President Nursultan Nazarebayev ITAR-TASS/Aleksey Nikolsky
Kazakhstan’s President Nursultan Nazarebayev
© ITAR-TASS/Aleksey Nikolsky

ASTANA, December 21. /TASS/. Kazakhstan’s President Nursultan Nazarbayev said on Sunday one the most important event of the outgoing year was the signing of the Eurasian Economic Union Treaty.

“We signed in Astana an agreement on the establishment of the Eurasian Economic Union. It was my idea voiced 20 year ago at the Moscow State University. It was an important event,” he told journalists of Kazakhstan’s television channels.

“Open borders, with people, trains and cargoes moving freely - it means that the space has expanded across three states, which is for the good of all of us,” he said.

He noted that the recent slump in trade had been rooted in global tendencies and indicated a decrease in trade only in monetary terms, whereas no such decrease ad taken place in terms of physical volume.

He voiced criticism in respect of those who said the Eurasian Economic Union was just an attempt to revive the former Soviet Union. “Some say that the Eurasian Economic Union means the loss of independence and the revival of the Soviet Union. This is absolute nonsense. Those who want to revive the Soviet Union - they have no brains at all. We turned down this idea long ago,” Nazarbayev said.

Another major event of the year 2014, according to the Kazakh leader, was the completion of negotiations on expanded partnership with the European Union and talks on accession of the World Trade Organization /WTO/. “It was a major win for Kazakhstan,” he underscored.