MOSCOW. June 6 (Interfax-AVN) - The committee for CIS affairs and ties with compatriots in the State Duma lower house of parliament has discussed Russian-Kazakh cooperation in providing potable water to Central Asia and adjacent Russian territories.
"Committee members argued that the problem of potable water supply to Central Asia has more than economic, environmental and humanitarian aspects. It is directly linked to Russia's security problems, especially in the context of high probability of armed conflicts in Central Asia in the future," committee chairman Andrei Kokoshin told Interfax-Military News Agency on Friday.
Kazakh Ambassador to Russia Altynbek Sarsenbayev and ex- minister of water supply Nariman Kipshikbayev told the council session that relocation of a share of floodwaters from Siberian rivers to Central Asia should be considered again.
The issue was discussed offstage at the recent summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, Kokoshin recalled.