Putin in Kazakhstan for regional Eurasian bloc meeting

By Aliia Raimbekova

ASTANA (AA) - Arriving in Kazakhstan on Tuesday for a presidential meeting of the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) Russian President Vladimir Putin was received by his Kazakh counterpart Nursultan Nazarbayev in the capital, Astana.

Nazarbayev told reporters that this is the 25th anniversary of the independence of most of the EEU members -- Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan -- as well as the founding of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) -- including EEU member Russia -- saying, “Thanks to our bilateral relations, the Eurasian Economic Union was founded and it works well.”

Putin, for his part, praised Kazakh-Russian economic ties, stating, “We laid a sound groundwork to boost the development of the Kazakh economy.”

The Eurasian Economic Union, aimed at boosting economic relations, was founded in 2014 between Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Russia; Armenia and Kazakhstan joined later.

*Anadolu Agency correspondent Ahmet Sait Akcay contributed to the report from Ankara.