Kazakh leader demands peaceful solution to Ukraine crisis
ASTANA. Aug 12 (Interfax) - Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev has called on the international community to help prevent any further escalation of the Ukrainian conflict.
"All of us are deeply concerned by the growing number of hotbeds of tension in the world. The confrontation in Ukraine and destabilization in the Middle East and other regions are consequences of the global crisis that has spread beyond the economic and financial sector," Nazarbayev said when receiving credentials from foreign ambassadors accredited in Kazakhstan in Astana on Tuesday.
"In this difficult time, it is imperative to prevent any further escalation of conflicts and the intensification of sanctions exchanges - it is path to nowhere. The only alternative is negotiations and a search for common ground on the most complicated issues. Kazakhstan remains committed to this alternative, and will try to influence [these processes] as far as its possibilities permit," he said.
"What counts most is not to stop looking for peaceful ways to resolve any disagreements," the Kazakh president said.
"We are committed to playing a proactive role in tackling all key issues at the regional and global levels. In this connection, Kazakhstan has applied for a non-permanent seat on the UN Security Council for 2017-2018. We count on support from countries that are our friends," Nazarbayev.
On Tuesday the Kazakh leader received credentials from Malaysian Ambassador Dato Hidayat Bin Abdul Hamid, Libya's Ambassador Salem Abdul Rahman al-Sa'aiti, Iranian Ambassador Mojtaba Damirchilu, Tajik Ambassador Nazirmad Alizoda, Estonia's Ambassador Jaan Reinhold, and Canadian Ambassador Shawn Steil.
