Page 21 - bne_newspaper_November_17_2017 700

Eurasia
November 17, 2017 www.intellinews.com I Page 21
The recommendation also stressed the need for “maintaining collective pressure on Russia to resolve the conflicts in Eastern Ukraine, the occupied territories of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, and Transnistria".
“Importantly, the European Parliament's report contains clear messages on the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Eastern Partnership member states, including Georgia, the occupation
Atambayev fuels Kazakh- Kyrgyz border 'fire' with Nazarbayev jibe
Kanat Shaku in Almaty
Describing Kazakhstan's Nursultan Nazarbayev as an "aged president", Kyrgyzstan's outgoing President Almazbek Atambayev again criticised his Kazakh counterpart on November 15 as he commented on the ongoing border dispute be- tween their two countries. He added that he would not apologise to the 77-year-old head of state whom he said was penalising Bishkek on a “whim”.
Kazakhstan tightened its Kyrgyz border controls following accusations that Astana tried to meddle in Kyrgyzstan’s presidential election. The restric- tions have supposedly almost halved the flow of trade between the two countries. Kazakh border guards have been singling out Kyrgyz consign- ments for inspections since October 10.
On October 24, Kyrgyzstan announced it would be cancelling $100mn in grant aid it had agreed to receive from Kazakhstan. The IMF said it expect- ed the dispute to affect Kyrgyzstan’s GDP growth,
of Georgia's two regions, and Russia's failure
to fulfil its international obligations. The report also calls for enhancing the EU's role in peaceful resolution of conflicts,” commented Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili in a statement later on November 15.
Aside from the three countries singled out in the recommendation, Eastern Partnership countries also include Armenia, Azerbaijan and Belarus.
Atambayev is not leaving office quietly.
noting it might only reach 3.2%-3.3% this year, below the originally expected 3.5%.
The border dispute links back to 61-year-old Atambayev publicly accusing Kazakhstan of open- ly supporting ex-prime minister Omurbek Ba- banov in the race for the presidency. Nazarbayev met with Babanov in Astana on September 19 and Atambayev's administration subsequently ac- cused Kazakhstan as portraying the encounter as a meeting of equals. Babanov subsequently lost the election and Atambayev apologised for his re- marks, though it appears Atambayev has not been able to refrain from throwing some more criti- cisms Nazarbayev’s way before he steps down to make way for his successor Sooranbai Jeenbekov.
"[Kyrgyzstan] has been cut off from the Eurasian Economic Union at the whim of Kazakhstan's leadership," Atambayev remarked on November 15. Both countries are members of the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU), a Russia-led trade bloc,