Photo: ru.sputnik.kg

Former Kyrgyz President Almazbek Atambayev said: " Thanks to Mirziyoyev, Central Asia is in peace and harmony".

Almazbek Atambayev talked about  domestic and foreign policy of Kyrgyzstan, his personal wealth and how to fight with corruption in an interview to the April channel on November 19.

During the interview journalists asked him: "You made very fierce statements at the time of your presidency. So, some people think that those decisions led to complicate our relationship with other countries. Why did you make such decisions?".

In his turn Atambayev: "From my point of view, I developed our relations with countries such as Russia. At the time of Bakiyev's presidency the situation was quite different. Yes, during the time of Islam Karimov, our relationship with Uzbekistan was very difficult. At that time I did not want to listen to him. However, my relationship with the current president of Uzbekistan, Shavkat Mirziyoyev, is very good. Mirziyoyev has not just changed Uzbekistan. He has changed the situation throughout the region. Someone likes that, someone not, but  thanks to Mirziyoyev, Central Asia is in peace and harmony right now. No one was able to do this for ten years. Mirziyoyev has raised the level of regional cooperation to such a level in two years. As for Nazarbayev, nowadays, the interference of other states' elections is a topical issue. In the United States, politicians are fired for connecting with Russian citizens during the presidential election. The head of the our neighboring state has been admitting and promoting the presidential candidate. It is an intervention. Yes, our neighbor is rich state. However, where is our independence? As far as I remember, in the parliamentary elections in 2010 and in the presidential election in 2011, most of them received money from their neighbors. It was necessary to stop it. I did that. I think that there will be no interference in future elections. And my personal relationship with Nazarbayev is a completely different subject. However, our personal relationships do not affect on interstate relations. As we are neighbors and we are both members of the Eurasian Economic Union",- said in his interview.

Recall, Kyrgyz President Almazbek Atambayev repeatedly made the statement that Nazarbayev took part in the election of Kyrgyzstan during the presidential election in 2017. Moreover, he called Nazarbayev as a "dictator of the neighboring country". After that, official Astana temporarily closed the border with Kyrgyzstan.

"The Qazaq Times"