Kazakhstan hopes that border issues not to be solved with help of water

The Minister of Agriculture of Kazakhstan Askar Myrzakhmetov commented on the statements of ex-President of Kyrgyzstan Almazbek Atambayev, Tengrinews.kz reported.

Earlier, Almazbek Atambayev said that to solve problems with the border, Kyrgyzstan can just cut off water to Kazakhstan for two days. Askar Myrzakhmetov believes that Kyrgyzstan will not make such a decision. «I think this decision will be made not only by the KR, because there are existing international rules on the use of transboundary rivers. Kyrgyzstan must adhere to these rules. We also have calculations, we take measures every year to provide our agricultural producers with the necessary amount of water,» he said.

The head of the Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Kazakhstan noted that the international rules prescribe the duties of all parties. At the same time, the minister did not deny that there is a certain dependence of the state on the discharge of water. «There is certain dependence, but it exists not only here, but also in Uzbekistan, as it is also in the lower reaches of the river. Therefore, even if Kyrgyzstan takes some other decision than what is now available for the distribution of water in this basin, this will also affect the interests of Uzbekistan,» Askar Myrzakhmetov explained.

Recall, since October 19, the discharge of water began at Kirov reservoir in Talas region of Kyrgyzstan.