 "Russia's President Vladimir Putin. Reuters")
Russian President Vladimir Putin will travel to Kazakhstan on November 27, making it his second visit to Central Asia’s largest country this year.
Putin’s visit to Kazakhstan was announced as Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov was in the country where he met with his Kazakh counterpart, Murat Nurtleu.
The Russian leader last visited Kazakhstan in July to attend a summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation – a defence group that brings together Russia, China, Iran and Central Asian countries.
Kazakhstan is a traditional ally of Russia but its war with Ukraine has sparked concerns in the former Soviet state.
What will Putin do in Kazakhstan?
Lavrov said that during his visit to the Central Asian nation, Putin is expected to sign “dozens of documents” seeking to strengthen the relationship shared by the two countries.
Our relations are on the rise. Serious preparations for the state visit by the president of the Russian Federation to Kazakhstan on November 27 are in progress," the foreign minister said.
“As we have just discussed in the narrow format, tens of documents are being prepared. Their preparation will be expedited in order to make the upcoming summit as content-rich as possible,” he added.
Russia-Kazakhstan relations
Oil-rich Kazakhstan and other Central Asian nations have maintained a delicate balancing act, preserving strong economic ties with Moscow but refusing to recognize its annexation of Ukrainian regions.
The Russian leader has made few foreign trips since he sent troops into Ukraine in February 2022. The International Criminal Court’s move to indict Putin in March for alleged war crimes connected to the deportation of children from Ukraine has affected his travel as any country that is party to the court is obliged to arrest him on its soil. Kazakstan isn’t part of the agreement that created the tribunal.
With inputs from agencies