Kazakhstan not intending to withdraw from EEU, Nazarbayev's words misunderstood - parliament committee head
ASTANA. Sept 2 (Interfax) - In an interview with the Khyber state TV channel Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev spoke about the potential possibility of Kazakhstan's withdrawal from the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU), if a threat to national interests were to emerge, chairman of the Majilis (parliament lower chamber) committee on international affairs, defense and security Maulen Ashimbayev said.
"As far as I am aware of this statement of the president, it did not concern specifically the withdrawal from the Customs Union due to the events in Ukraine. It concerned the fact that Kazakhstan always has the possibility to withdraw from treaties of international organizations which we have signed," Ashimbayev told reporters, commenting to reports on the interpretations of this interview Nazarbayev gave in Kazakh last week by some mass media outlets.
"In particular, it meant that if agreements in the framework of the EEU are not complied with as stipulated in treaties and if some factors affect our security and our national interests, Kazakhstan has the opportunity to withdraw from the EEU. The president of the country was speaking about this," he said.
It did not concern "the case of when this could occur" or "that we want to withdraw now or are going to withdraw," Ashimbayev said.
"It concerned the possibility and the fact that such treaties have mechanisms on participants' withdrawal. This is what it concerned," the deputy said.
Kazakhstan "follows first of all its national interests in any international organizations, of course," Ashimbayev said. "So if some threats to our national interest arise in future, of course, as the president said, Kazakhstan will not participate in such international organizations," he said.
"But I will emphasize that the president was probably speaking about this possibility more in a general aspect. It did not concern the possibility that we are going to take any steps now," Ashimbayev said.
Astana might withdraw from the Eurasian Economic Union if membership in it threatens the country's independence, the Kazakh president said in an interview with the Khyber TV channel on August 24.
"If the rules stipulated in the agreement are not complied with, Kazakhstan has every right to withdraw from membership of the Eurasian union. Astana will never be part of an organization that threatens the independence of Kazakhstan. Our independence is the most valued treasure for which our grandfathers fought. We will do everything possible to protect it," Nazarbayev said back then.
Meanwhile, a number of mass media outlets interpreted these words of Nazarbayev as a certain move in response to Russian President Vladimir Putin's speech at Seliger, even though the Kazakh president had given the interview a week earlier.
Putin said in particular when speaking at Seliger that the Kazakh president has done "a unique thing" - "he created a state in a territory where there has never been a state" and "in this regard he is a unique person for post-Soviet statehood."
Due to this, it is not right to say that "Kazakhstan did not have statehood," Ashimbayev said.
"Probably, there was such situation or context, it happens that this statement of the Russian president was taken out of context. This probably was improvisation, not a statement prepared, in some situation. But I think it is wrong to say that Kazakhstan did not have statehood," he said.
At the same time, reporters are urged "not to dramatize the situation," Ashimbayev said. "You know that the political situation is, quote, 'tense' due to the events in Ukraine as it is. But some phrases were probably taken out of context," he said.