Accession to Customs Union is unprofitable for Kyrgyzstan - leader of party Reform
BISHKEK. Jan 21 (Interfax) - The political party Reform and some Kyrgyz public associations intend to hold events For Free Kyrgyzstan targeted against the republic's accession to the Customs Union, Mirbek Asangariyev, leader of the party, told reporters on Tuesday.
Accession to the Customs Union "will not bring anything good, it will cause price growth, which may lead to social tensions," Asangariyev said.
"For this reason, we want to warn the country's administration and call on it not to enter the Customs Union," he said.
Asangariyev also said members of his party believe that membership in the Customs Union may lead to political consequences "such as partial loss of sovereignty."
"Kyrgyzstan's economy is considerably different from the Customs Union countries and has little in common with them," he said.
In the meantime, Kyrgyz Prime Minister Zhantoro Satybaldiyev earlier told reporters Kyrgyzstan will continue negotiations with the Customs Union Troika on the republic's accession to the Customs Union.
"We are looking for ways to resolve our problems. Historically and in the long-term, we should be in the Customs Union. However, it will be very difficult for us to sign an agreement on accession to this association if we don't see economic profits," he said.
Satybaldiyev said Kyrgyzstan "is not setting itself any deadlines for accession to the Customs Union."
"The work ion this process continues," he said.
In the meantime, a source in the Kyrgyz government told Interfax the Eurasian Economic Commission expects Kyrgyzstan to make proposals on the roadmap for the republic's accession to the Customs Union tentatively in March.
In December 2013, the Kyrgyz government said the roadmap proposed by the Eurasian Economic Commission was adopted without consultations with Kyrgyzstan. The work on the roadmap continued after the meeting between the heads of the countries of the Customs Union Troika in Moscow, which was attended by Kyrgyz President Almazbek Atambayev.
