Considering events in the Kazakh city of Karaganda as interethnic  conflict is unacceptable

ArmInfo. Considering events in the Kazakh city of Karaganda as an inter-ethnic conflict is unacceptable. The Ombudsman for Human Rights of Kazakhstan, Askar  Shakirov stated yesterday during a telephone conversation with Human  Rights Defender of Armenia Arman Tatoyan.  According to the office of  the Ombudsman of Armenia, Askar Shakirov assured Arman Tatoyan that  there can be no talk of discriminatory attitudes towards Armenians by  nationality. The Ombudsman of Kazakhstan said that this issue was  under his immediate attention.

After a conversation with the Ombudsman of Armenia, he again  discussed the issue with law enforcement agencies and informed Arman  Tatoyan that the incident is of an exclusively criminal nature,  referring also to new and previously made statements by law  enforcement agencies.

At the request of Arman Tatoyan, Askar Shakirov expressed full  readiness within his competence to examine in detail any complaint or  appeal that Armenians may have.

The Armenian Ombudsman noted the importance of high quality  cooperation with his Kazakh counterpart, his prompt response, and  said that he would continue to keep in touch with him in connection  with the situation regarding compatriots in Kazakhstan.

The Human Rights Defender also maintains contact with the Foreign  Ministry of Armenia and the Embassy of the Republic of Armenia in  Kazakhstan and attaches importance to their efforts in connection  with the current situation.

The situation in Karaganda was also discussed by the Foreign  Ministers of Armenia and Kazakhstan - Zohrab Mnatsakanyan and Beibut  Atamkulov. According to the press service of the Foreign Ministry of  Armenia, yesterday the interlocutors stressed during a telephone  conversation the unacceptability of considering a situation that has  arisen on domestic soil, in interethnic light. "The interlocutors  agreed that the current situation is very delicate, they pointed to  deliberately distorting the facts, and also discussed steps to  further eliminate tensions, " the statement reads.

To this end, the parties agreed to maintain direct contacts between  various departments of Kazakhstan and Armenia.

In turn, Mnatsakanyan congratulated his Kazakh counterpart on his  appointment as head of the foreign ministry. To recall, Atamkulov  took this position from December 26, 2018. 

On the night of January 1, a fight took place in the restaurant  "Ancient Rome" in the city of Karaganda. As a result of the incident,  a 23-year-old resident of Karaganda died, three others were injured.  The deadly brawl in Kazakhstan has become a fertile ground for  inciting ethnic hatred and the spread of misinformation. Three  Armenians were involved in it. According to the latest data, 7 people  were detained on the fact of fighting and murder, five of them were  arrested. It is known that among them there is 1 Kazakh, two -  Armenians, another Armenian is wanted.