The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry has said that it was deeply concerned about media reports regarding Kazakh President Kasym-Zhomart Tokayev's remark denying the annexation of Ukraine's Crimea by Russia.
"Ukraine has always viewed Kazakhstan as its partner and friend. The principles of mutual trust, respect for independence, state sovereignty, territorial integrity and inviolability of borders, equality and non-interference in the internal affairs of each other, as well as the steady observance of generally recognized norms of international law, underlie the interstate relations between Ukraine and the Republic of Kazakhstan. These foundations were enshrined in the Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation signed in 1994, and since then our state has been steadily adhering to them," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Kateryna Zelenko said in a statement.
She noted that the words of the president of the Republic of Kazakhstan not only contradict the above-mentioned principles of Ukrainian-Kazakh relations but also the internationally recognised position presented in the UN General Assembly Resolution A/RES/68/262 dated 27 March 2014.
"It is particularly unfortunate that the president of Kazakhstan said this on the eve of the OSCE ministerial meeting, an organization of which both countries are members, and one of whose fundamental principles, according to the Helsinki Final Act, is respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the states," she said.
Appropriate demarches will be made in regard to the Kazakh side.