Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov to work out bilateral agreements with Kyrgyzstan on military, energy and financial cooperation issues, Shuvalov said on Tuesday at a meeting with Kyrgyz President Almazbek Atambayev.
“Vladimir Putin has instructed me along with senior officials of ministries and departments to visit Kyrgyzstan in order to discuss military-technical issues, energy and settlement of financial issues. We need to agree on solutions that will form the basis of a joint agreement or even several agreements that in fact will begin a new chapter in our relations,” Shuvalov said.
In April 2011 the Kyrgyz government approved a plan to join the Customs Union with Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan. The three Customs Union countries account for 45 percent of Kyrgyzstan’s foreign trade.
Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev told Kyrgyz Prime Minister Omurbek Babanov in July he supported Kyrgyzstan’s ambition to join the Union.