Putin, Tokayev, Nazarbayev discuss Kazakh president’s visit to Russia expected in the near future - Kremlin

MOSCOW, March 21. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin has held a telephone conversation with his Kazakh counterpart Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and Kazakhstan’s first president Nursultan Nazarbayev, the Kremlin press service said in a statement. "The parties agreed to closely cooperate in boosting partnership ties between Russia and Kazakhstan, and organize Kassym-Jomart Tokayev’s visit to Russia in the near future," the statement reads. Putin once again thanked Nazarbayev for his great personal contribution to the development of alliance relations between the two countries and the successful implementation of the Eurasian integration project. According to the Kremlin press service, the Russian leader "expressed confidence that Kazakhstan’s first president would continue to actively participate in efforts to boost cooperation between members of the Eurasian Economic Union." Putin also congratulated Tokayev on his assumption of the office and wished him every success. On Wednesday, Tokayev took the oath as Kazakhstan’s president following a resignation announcement Nazarbayev had made on Tuesday. Nazarbayev said in his address to the country’s people that he would remain head of the Kazakh Security Council and leader of the Nur Otan party, as well as member of the Constitutional Council. Nazarbayev became Kazakhstan’s first president in 1990 and was elected president in a nationwide election in 1991. Tokayev earlier served as speaker of Kazakhstan’s upper house of parliament, prime minister and foreign minister, as well as a United Nations under secretary general. Read more