Menu
Latest
Menu
Latest
Commentary

Russia and Kazakhstan hold high level political consultations. On the agenda is also the issue of the Russian use of the Baikonur Space Centre.

29 May 2012

Russia’s Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev is in Astana for meetings with the leaders of Kazakhstan.

The official part of the visit will begin with the talks with President Nursultan Nazarbayev, after which he will meet with his Kazakhstani counterpart, Karim Massimov.

Whilte the two countries have good bilateral relations there are also some outstanding issues that are causing friction. On the agenda during Medvedev's visit is related to the Baikonur Space Centre. Russia and Kazakhstan have failed so far to reach an agreement on a new drop zone for the debris of Russian carrier rockets being launched from Baikonur Kazakh space agency Kazcosmos said.

Russian Kommersant daily said in an article last week that Russia would not be able to carry out three scheduled rocket launches because of the dispute over the drop zone. “The launches mentioned in the article have not been agreed to by Kazakhstan because they require a new debris drop zone, which is not part of the Baikonur rent agreement of December 1994,” Kazcosmos said in a statement on Monday.

Kazakhstan insists that in order for the zone to be used the two sides must sign an additional agreement to the Baikonur rent agreement, which has to be ratified by the Kazakh parliament.

Kazcosmos said that the talks on the new agreement began in 2008, but a draft document is still in the works. Failure to sign the document already prevented Russia from launching a European weather monitoring satellite MetOp-B on May 23, and will most likely jeopardize a cluster launch of Belarusian, Canadian, German and two Russian satellites on June 7 and the launch of Russian satellite Resurs-P in August.

source: commonspace.eu with RIA Novosoti

photo: medvedev arriving in Kazakhstan (picture courtesy of Itar-Tass)

Related articles

Editor's choice
News
Uzbekistan calls for bigger voice for Central Asia in the UN
Trending

Uzbekistan calls for bigger voice for Central Asia in the UN

26 September 2026
Uzbekistan called for a more effective and representative United Nations on September 23, as presidential administration chief Saida Mirziyoyeva used her address to the UN General Assembly to seek support for the country’s candidacy for a nonpermanent Security Council seat in 2035–2036. Speaking at the Assembly’s 81st session in New York, Mirziyoyeva argued that international cooperation remains necessary despite growing geopolitical divisions. She endorsed UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ UN80 reform initiative and called for an expanded Security Council, arguing that international rules should be applied consistently rather than according to the interests of powerful states. Uzbekistan’s planned chairmanship of the Non-Aligned Movement in 2027 was presented as another platform for promoting dialogue. Her emphasis on multilateralism also fits a broader Central Asian effort to increase the region’s role in international institutions. Kyrgyzstan, for example, will hold its first Security Council seat in 2027–2028. Mirziyoyeva also highlighted regional cooperation, pointing to improved relations among Central Asian states over longstanding border and water disputes. On Afghanistan, she urged countries not to view it solely as a security threat, stressing the importance of creating conditions for peaceful development. She linked Uzbekistan’s international agenda to domestic reforms, citing economic growth, falling poverty and expanded education. Climate and water security also featured prominently, with the Aral Sea serving as an example of the consequences of poor environmental management. (click image to read more)

Popular

Editor's choice
Interview
Thursday Interview: Murad Muradov
Trending

Thursday Interview: Murad Muradov

15 January 2026
Today, commonspace.eu starts a new regular weekly series. THURSDAY INTERVIEW, conducted by Lauri Nikulainen, will host  persons who are thinkers, opinion shapers, and implementors in their countries and spheres. We start the series with an interview with Murad Muradov, a leading person in Azerbaijan's think tank community. He is also the first co-chair of the Action Committee for a new Armenian-Azerbaijani Dialogue. Last September he made history by being the first Azerbaijani civil society activist to visit Armenia after the 44 day war, and the start of the peace process. Speaking about this visit Murad Muradov said: "My experience was largely positive. My negative expectations luckily didn’t play out. The discussions were respectful, the panel format bringing together experts from Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Turkey was particularly valuable during the NATO Rose-Roth Seminar in Yerevan, and media coverage, while varied in tone, remained largely constructive. Some media outlets though attempted to represent me as more of a government mouthpiece than an independent expert, which was totally misleading.  Overall, I see these initiatives as important steps in rebuilding trust and normalising professional engagement. The fact that soon a larger Azerbaijani civil society visits to Armenia followed, reinforces the sense that this process is moving in the right direction." (click the image to read the interview in full)
Murad Muradov
Lauri Nikulainen interviews Murad Muradov