In Annual Press Briefing, Nazarbayev Offers to Mediate in Ukraine, Stresses Kazakhstan’s Economic Resilience By Zhanar Abdulova ASTANA – President Nursultan Nazarbayev held his annual end-of-year news briefing covering a broad range of areas from the situation in Ukraine to Kazakhstan’s economic stimulus package, terrorism threats, prospects of integration in Eurasia and Almaty’s bid to host the Winter Olympics in 2022. During an hour-and-a-half question-and-answer session shown on national television channels on Dec. 21, Nazarbayev said the reasons for the continuing confrontation in Ukraine which had crippled the fellow post-Soviet country for the past year laid in the failure by that country’s political elites to secure adequate economic progress over the past two decades. “As a result of weak social policies, poverty of many groups of the Ukrainian society led them to being manipulated by third parties of all kinds,” he said. Nazarbayev emphasised Ukraine’s historical closeness to Kazakhstan, as well as the presence of a large Ukrainian minority in Kazakhstan. “The fratricidal war has brought true devastation to eastern Ukraine, and it is a common task to stop the war there, strengthen Ukraine’s independence and secure territorial integrity of Ukraine,” the Kazakh leader said. “Both Ukraine and Russia are equally close to Kazakhstan that is why I am ready to continue talking to leaders in both Kiev and Moscow, as well as in European capitals, in a bid to promote progress in negotiations over lasting peace in eastern Ukraine.” “We have no conflict of interests. I am like an objective manager who does not support any side, takes a neutral position and can contribute in a constructive way,” he continued. “There is a need to agree on those issues where aspirations of Ukraine, Russia and Europe coincide: ending the way, freeing prisoners, assisting in restoration in eastern Ukraine, determining the status of languages. These are the issues that need to be brought up to the level of the presidents and need to be agreed upon, together with the Europeans.” [In the early morning of Dec. 22 Nazarbayevleft Astana for a visit to Kiev to hold talks with President Petro Poroshenko, which will be followed by a trip to Moscow on Dec. 23 for meetings with President Vladimir Putin of Russia and other leaders in the Eurasian Economic Union and Collective Security Treaty Organisation formats.] Economy Resilient, While Government Has Resources to Withstand Pressure Speaking of the impact of reciprocal sanctions between the West and Russia, Nazarbayev said they had no direct impact on Kazakhstan but there was nothing good for his country in this situation either. In his words, the sanctions stand-off is among the reasons of the current crisis in global economy that also brought the falling oil prices. “The government will continue elaborating well thought through solutions that would secure stability of Kazakhstan’s economy,” he said urging calm among his people who have been worried by the growing economic woes in neighbouring Russia. Nazarbayev stressed that the trouble with the Russian rouble has confirmed the timeliness of his snap state-of-the-nation address on Nov. 11. He also emphasised the importance of proposed