Putin Says New Kazakh President's Visit to Russia to Contribute to Relations Strengthening
Russian President Vladimir Putin voiced belief on Wednesday that Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev's visit to Moscow would contribute to strengthening of the two countries' partnership
During the meeting with Tokayev, Putin congratulated him on taking the office of the Kazakh leader.
"I am sure that your today's visit with such a representative team will contribute to strengthening of our multidimensional, multifaceted and allied relations," Putin said.
He stressed that Russia and Kazakhstan enjoyed close allied relations both within international organizations and on bilateral level.
"You are aware of the level of our relations, and you have largely contributed to taking the Russian-Kazakh contacts to this level.
This is certainly the merit of the first Kazakh President [Nursultan Nazarbayev] first of all, but the entire team has been making effort to achieve this goal, and we have achieved much," Putin added.
Tokayev, who has come to Russia at Putin's invitation to discus bilateral ties, has pledged to do anything to strengthen the friendship between the two countries.
Tokayev was sworn in as the acting president of Kazakhstan on March 20 after unexpected resignation of Nazarbayev, who has been ruling the country since 1999.