Kazakhstan offers Russia friendship without Belarus

The first foreign visit of Dmitry Medvedev in a capacity of Russian president will be done to Kazakhstan. During the visit signing of a number of agreements touching upon Belarusian interests as well is possible.

The Russian press called the voyage of the newly elected president to Kazakhstan symbolic. In this way, they say, Russia demonstrates superiority of its interests at the post-Soviet territory. Meanwhile, as informed by “Kommersant”, during negotiations Nursultan Nazarbayev is set to raise a question of Russia and Kazakhstan’s economies’ integration. In fact, Nazarbayev offers Moscow to return to the idea of the Single Economic space, the magazine writes. But this time Astana insists that SES should be built without Belarus and Ukraine, which according to Kazakh authorities rather hinder integration processes than promote them, “Nasha Niva” writes.

Russia has rather ambitious plans on Kazakhstan too, primarily, in the energy sphere. Kazakhstan interests Russia as one of shareholders of oil pipeline BTS-2. Related offers have been sent to Astana, and it is possible they are to be considered during the meeting in Astana. As we have informed, on May 14 the new Prime Minister of Russia Vladimir Putin told that the oil pipeline would be constructed.

“Kommersant” explains the choice of Astana by the fact that during the time of Putin’s rule, there is no other place left to demonstrate success of Russian politics in the CIS except Kazakhstan. Even in the Belarusian direction the situation is stably difficult, despite of many years of the “union state” construction.