ASTANA. Dec 2 (Interfax) - The actions taken by the Kazakh border guards who shot and killed one Russian poacher and wounded another were aimed at protecting the state border, the Kazakh Foreign Ministry has reported.
"We would like to reiterate that the said incident took place within the 12-mile zone, which is the territory of Kazakhstan according to the law On the State Border. Therefore, the actions taken by the Kazakh border guards were aimed at protecting the state border of our country," the ministry said in a report issued on Friday.
The ministry reiterated that "Kazakhstan is ensuring and will ensure the inviolability of its border, the observance of its legislation, and the protection of its national interests using all means allowed by the law, regardless of the violators' citizenship."
"We would also like to reiterate that the detainees are not 'fishermen' as press reports say. We are talking about violators of the state border, who poached in a specially protected reserve area and deliberately failed to obey the lawful demands of Kazakh law enforcement officials," the report says.
The Russian Foreign Ministry has recently sent a verbal protest note to the Kazakh Foreign Ministry in connection with the death of a Russian sailor as a result of the use of weapons by Kazakh border guards in the Caspian Sea, calling the Kazakh officials' actions illegitimate.
The Kazakh Foreign Ministry, in turn, confirmed that the verbal note has been received and "a response to it will be sent to Russia in accordance with the established procedures."