PHOTO: AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, Pool. Russian President Vladimir Putin (left) shakes hands with Kazakhstan's interim President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, (right) during their meeting in the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, Wednesday, April 3, 2019.
Kazakhstan’s Interim President Kassyn-Jomart Tokayev made his first foreign visit to Moscow since being appointed two weeks ago.
Tokayev, formerly the Speaker of the upper house of Kazakhstan’s Parliament, was named the country’s leader after the unexpected resignation of Nursultan Nazarbayev, who had been in power since the country became independent from the Soviet Union in 1991.
Tokayev is likely to continue Nazarbayev’s multi-vector strategy, a policy of cooperation and co-habitation with all regional powers, including Russia. In the meeting with President Vladimir Putin of Russia on Wednesday, Tokayev called Kazakhstan’s ties with Russia “a benchmark” of interstate relations, and said “I’m pleased to be able to reaffirm the unbreakable bonds of friendship, alliance, and strategic partnership between our countries.”
Tokayev also promised to continue Nazarbeyev’s plans introduced in 2017 to gradually switch the Kazakh alphabet from Cyrillic to Latin-based letters.
Russian President Vladimir Putin welcomed and congratulated Tokayev for assuming office, and said that “I am confident that your current visit together with a team that came with you will contribute to strengthening our multifaceted, multilateral allied relations.
BY MSEAP Cyber Secretariat (mseap@assembly.go.kr) |
