Kazakhstan values cooperation with Russia, says parliamentary speaker

MOSCOW, May 20. /TASS/. Kazakhstan values its relations of cooperation and partnership with Russia and will make every effort to foster them, the speaker of Kazakhstan's Senate upper house of parliament said on Tuesday. Speaking at a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Senate Chairman Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said that the parliamentary segment "is an integral part of our bilateral cooperation". "We intend to work further to strengthen inter-parliamentary ties both on a bilateral basis and through international institutions," he said, noting the Inter-Parliamentary Assembly of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). Tokayev noted also that Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev’s presence at a military parade on Moscow’s Red Square marking 70 years since Soviet victory over Nazi Germany in World War Two, as well as participation of Kazakhstan’s soldiers and veterans, could be regarded as "a clear demonstration of unity between the people of Russia and Kazakhstan". "We will do our best to treasure the truth about victory and pass it down to younger generations," he said. "Kazakhstan values the allied relationship and partnership with Russia based on the 2013 treaty on good-neighbourliness and cooperation," Tokayev said, noting "high dynamics" of cooperation between the countries. Relations between Russia and Kazakhstan "can be regarded as a model of bilateral cooperation", he said, adding that he believed other countries should take a closer look at their experience. Tokayev pointed to frequent meetings between the presidents of the two nations. Foreign Minister Lavrov also noted that Tokayev’s trip to Moscow was taking place soon after the countries’ leaders exchanged visits. Lavrov recalled that Russia’s Vladimir Putin visited Astana in April while Kazakhstan’s Nazarbayev was in Moscow on May 9 to join in commemorations of the 70th anniversary of victory in World War Two. This was Nazarbayev’s first official visit after his re-election as president last month. "We are impressed by participation of our Kazakh friends and veterans in the Victory parade," Lavrov said. "We honour their contribution to defeating fascism." Russia’s top diplomat expressed satisfaction with "the current state of our bilateral relations", adding that besides bilateral cooperation, the two countries worked together to strengthen the Eurasian Economic Union, the new Russia-led political and economic bloc formed with Kazakhstan, Belarus and Armenia. He said the countries also cooperated within the Russia-led CSTO alliance of former Soviet republics of Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, alongside the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), comprising Russia, China and four Central Asian nations - Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. "We are interested in strengthening inter-parliamentary ties," Lavrov added. Read more