OREANDA-NEWS. September 20, 2012. In Bishkek, Vladimir Putin held talks with President of Kyrgyzstan Almazbek Atambayev.

A number of bilateral documents have been signed following the Russian-Kyrgyzstani talks, including an intergovernmental agreement on the settlement of Kyrgyzstan’s debt to Russia. Another agreement defines the status and operation conditions of the Russian military base in Kyrgyzstan. In addition, the parties signed a protocol on defence cooperation in the period preceding the entry into force of the agreement on the Russian military base. Two documents concern the construction and operation of the Upper Naryn hydropower cascade and Kambarata-1 HPP. In addition, a joint statement has been adopted on the outcome of the visit.

Later, Vladimir Putin and Almazbek Atambayev laid flowers at the memorial in honour of the assistance Kyrgyz people provided to the people of Leningrad evacuated to the Kyrgyz Republic from the besieged city during the Great Patriotic War. The two leaders also talked with the head of Kyrgyz Society of Leningrad Siege Survivors Anna Kutanova.

The Russian President arrived in Kyrgyzstan last night from Kazakhstan, where he took part in the IX Russia-Kazakhstan Interregional Cooperation Forum.

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Press statements and answers to journalists' questions following Russian-Kyrgyzstani talks

PRESIDENT OF KYRGYZSTAN ALMAZBEK ATAMBAYEV: Mr President, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,

I would like to begin by congratulating Mr Belyaninov [head of the Federal Customs Service of Russia] on receiving a state decoration of Kyrgyzstan. For those of you who do not know about it, I want to say that if it were not for Mr Belyaninov, we may not have been able to erect a monument to Manas on Ala-Too Square in time for the Independence Day festivities last year.

It is also unlikely that we would have built a monument to Manas in Moscow, as we had not been able to do it for the past 10 years. It is a merit of Mr Belyaninov, who is a great friend of0 Kyrgyzstan, both in his official function and unofficially, a sort of our man in Moscow.

PRESIDENT OF RUSSIA VLADIMIR PUTIN: Yes, your very own.

ALMAZBEK ATAMBAYEV: The Order of Daanaker is named after a person who unites people and brings integrity and friendship. We had different problems in the past but Mr Belyaninov always did everything in his power to revitalise the relations between Kyrgyzstan and Russia. Mr Belyaninov, the first award I conferred was for you. I think you truly deserve it and I congratulate you once again.

Mr President, I want to thank you again for accepting our invitation to make an official visit. We have finally signed many agreements that have been in the making for years, or even decades in some cases.

I want to note that the breakthrough was made during the visit of Mr Shuvalov [First Deputy Prime Minister of Russia]. I think that was when we made a real step forward. Today we have consolidated this progress and all the agreements have been signed.

I want to make it clear that Russia is our main strategic partner: we have a shared history and a common destiny with Russia. I am certain that we cannot have a future that doesn’t include Russia. Our future lies in a union and a strategic partnership with the great Russia.

Once again I want to thank all the experts present, all of those who worked on the documents, and President Putin, of course, for his political will. I think many people did not believe these documents would ever be signed and many still view Kyrgyzstan with suspicion.

Thank you, Mr President.

VLADIMIR PUTIN: Mr President, colleagues, ladies and gentlemen,

We are very satisfied with the work that has been done in recent months and the signing of key documents. First of all, they concern the financial settlements from the previous years between the Russian Federation and Kyrgyzstan. This creates a good basis for the expansion of trade and economic relations, and they are developing very positively.

Last year, we posted an increase of 5%, with growth exceeding 30% in the first six months of 2012. I have already talked about this at our expanded meeting. Russia remains Kyrgyzstan’s main trade partner. New fundamental conditions for our cooperation have been created with the signing of the documents, not only those focused on financial relations, but also energy cooperation agreements.

As you know, we have signed the agreements for the construction of Kambarata-1 HPP and the Upper Naryn cascade HPP. These are major, serious multi-billion projects, and I want to stress that they will contribute to Kyrgyzstan’s economic growth, create jobs and increase prosperity.

We have also reached agreement on the operation of a joint military base in Kyrgyzstan. I think many people here in Kyrgyzstan remember how it was established. It was set up when terrorist gangs entered the territory of Kyrgyzstan.

The Government of Kyrgyzstan turned to Russia to establish a military outpost here that would serve as a barrier against drug trafficking, drugs and extremism trying to enter Kyrgyzstan. We established the base and now we have agreed with the leadership of Kyrgyzstan to continue its operation. Certainly, this is a very important element that strengthens the trust between our two countries.

I am sure many people know about our humanitarian cooperation. Kyrgyzstan and Russia worked and lived as part of a single state for many years, even centuries. We are aware of Kyrgyzstan’s efforts to preserve the Russian language in the country. About 13,000 students are currently enrolled at Russian universities, 10,000 of them are studying free of charge, which is funded out of Russia’s federal budget. We are ready to talk about expanding our humanitarian cooperation.

Last year Kyrgyzstan successfully held the Days of Russian Culture, and now the Days of Kyrgyz Culture are about to open in Moscow. All of this will certainly contribute to the development of long-term allied relations.

We are aware of our partners’ intentions and their aspiration to deepen cooperation with such integration associations in the post-Soviet space as the Customs Union and the Common Economic Space. The President of Kyrgyzstan and I discussed this in detail today and yesterday evening in an informal setting.

We will support Kyrgyzstan’s efforts to join these integration associations. It is not a simple matter, but given Russia’s accession to the World Trade Organisation and the fact that our integration associations – the Customs Union and the Common Economic Space – comply with WTO rules and regulations, I think it creates additional, good prerequisites for the entry of the Kyrgyz Republic in these associations.

I want to thank President Atambayev, all of our Kyrgyz partners and friends for their hospitality and for their fruitful and very effective work in the recent period.

Thank you for your attention.