Putin meets former Kazakh president in Moscow

On December 27, Russian President Vladimir Putin held a meeting with Kazakhstan’s first president, Nursultan Nazarbayev, the Kremlin press service reported.

The two last met in May of this year.

Later, Nazarbayev’s press secretary, Aidos Ukibay, clarified that the visit to Moscow was of a personal nature.

Ukibay emphasised that Nazarbayev and Putin share long-standing friendly relations, which persist regardless of official positions. He also denied reports suggesting that Nazarbayev had left Kazakhstan to live in another country.

According to the Kremlin website, their previous meeting took place on May 29 this year. In December last year, Vladimir Putin and Nursultan Nazarbayev met at the Russian president's residence in Novo-Ogaryovo near Moscow.

Nursultan Nazarbayev served as president of Kazakhstan from 1991 to 2019. In March 2019, he resigned from office of his own accord. In June, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev won the presidential election.

By Khagan Isayev