During Putin’s state visit to Kazakhstan, the parties confirmed the strategic nature of the bilateral partnership

Russian President Vladimir Putin visited the Republic of Kazakhstan (RK) on November 27-28. The first day of the Russian leader’s stay in RK was marked by a state visit, the program of which was quite eventful. First of all, these were negotiations with the President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev in his residence “Akorda” (Kazakh – White Headquarters), during which he discussed the further development of Russian-Kazakh relations, which are of a strategic partnership nature.

Although Vladimir Putin has visited Kazakhstan far from the first time (35 visits at various levels, three as Prime Minister), this is only the second state visit (the first took place in October 2015, under the President of RK Nursultan Nazarbayev).

According to diplomatic protocol, this is the highest level. It is for this reason that the high-ranking guest from Moscow was given a lavish reception, which prompted President Putin, who is more accustomed to the working nature of visits, to say: “Such a ceremonial entourage is somewhat unusual.”

Less obvious signs may also indicate the exceptional nature of the current trip: on the eve of the visit to Kazakhstan, Putin and Tokayev exchanged articles on the nature of bilateral relations, published in the media of both countries, in which they highly praised the cooperation between Moscow and Astana in all areas. Thus, the Russian leader in an article published in the newspaper “Kazakhstanskaya Pravda” stated: “The peoples of Russia and Kazakhstan are connected by close cultural, spiritual and moral values, a centuries-old history of life in a single state, joint achievements and victories.” Putin also noted that “cooperation between Russia and Kazakhstan is truly allied in nature and continues to actively develop in all areas”.

At the same time, the text of the article quite clearly conveys the idea that attempts by the Kazakh leadership to flirt with the West will not lead to anything good for the people of Kazakhstan. To exchange the partnership between Moscow and Astana, which is “built on the principles of equality and respect for each other’s interests,” for the humiliating position of a Western vassal is stupid and short-sighted.

In turn President Tokayev wrote in his article for the Izvestia newspaper: “Kazakhstan has been and remains a reliable strategic partner, an ally of Russia in this difficult time.” At the same time, he added: “On the eve of your visit, members of the government worked, discussed all the issues on the agenda. There were and are no disagreements, and this is good.” Indeed, despite constant contacts, the presidents of Russia and Kazakhstan always have something to discuss, including unresolved issues. After all, as the head of the Russian Foreign Ministry Sergei Lavrov recently noted, when there are no issues in the relations between two states, this means that, in fact, there are no relations between them. Moscow has many issues with Astana that require practical solutions. The importance of the negotiations held in the capital of the Republic of Kazakhstan was also emphasized by the impressive composition of the delegations. President Putin noted in this regard that “half the government has arrived” in Kazakhstan.

It is understandable that pressing economic issues were touched upon during the negotiations. Russia remains one of Kazakhstan’s largest trading partners: trade turnover last year reached $28 billion, mainly in national currencies. According to the Russian leader, this allows the economy to be protected from the negative foreign policy environment. Accumulated investments in the Kazakh economy amounted to $13 billion. First of all, funds are directed to energy, industry, transport and logistics, and agriculture. To date, according to the President of the Republic Tokayev, over 90 projects worth over $18 billion have already been implemented in Kazakhstan, and another 49 promising projects are at the implementation stage.

At the same time, cultural and humanitarian ties are being strengthened. At the same time, as experts note, the leaders of the two states still have something to discuss for further, in particular, economic integration. Moreover, these two countries are the basis of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU). For example, there are certain problems in mutual trade, the main driving force of bilateral cooperation. In the last two years, trade turnover between Kazakhstan and Russia has been falling. Over the last 10 months, it has decreased by almost 10%. As a result, China has become Kazakhstan’s main trading partner. According to Kazakhstani experts, the decrease in trade is “contributed to” by various ministries and departments of both countries, so the intervention of the leaders of the two states is required in this matter.

Another aspect that can and should be improved is logistics between Russia and Kazakhstan. First of all, there is no normal railway connection between the two countries; in particular, passenger trains do not run, although previously there were two trains per day, which, by the way, were always overcrowded. The third important point is related to money transfers from Russia to Kazakhstan and back. The difficulties are related to the fact that many Russian banks are under Western sanctions, but if we consider the importance of this problem: in the first half of 2024 alone, Kazakhstanis transferred over 160.7 billion tenge (more than 34.8 billion rubles) to Russia in various ways, then this issue could be resolved without the participation of banks. And finally, another problem for ordinary citizens of Russia and Kazakhstan is roaming between the countries. Living in a single economic space and not having unified tariffs for mobile communications is nonsense, economists are convinced. It can be assumed that all the above issues were discussed during the talks in Astana, and the parties, apparently, found a way out of the current situation. At least, after the talks, Vladimir Putin said: “When we discussed all our issues of interaction in a narrow format, we paid attention to the problems that arise within the framework of such a large bilateral process. <…> But the most important thing is that, and this was noticeable during the discussion in a narrow format: there is a desire to seek answers to all these questions and find them. And they are being found.” “With such an attitude, we will achieve great success,” the Russian leader added. Well, let’s hope that this will be the case – after all, President Putin’s words do not diverge from his actions.

Following the Russian-Kazakh negotiations, about 20 documents were signed and a joint statement on deepening the strategic partnership between the two states was adopted. In this regard, the Russian president expressed confidence that these documents “will strengthen the regulatory framework and will be a good basis for further progress.”

In addition, on November 27, the presidents of Russia and Kazakhstan addressed the participants of the 20th Interregional Cooperation Forum, which was taking place in Ufa at that time, via video link and took part (also online) in the opening ceremony of the branch of the Al-Farabi Kazakh National University at the Dostoevsky Omsk State University.

On the second day of his stay in Astana, President Putin took part in a session of the Council of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), which Kazakhstan will chair in 2024. In this regard, in his speech at the session, the President of Kazakhstan stated that all the tasks facing the CSTO during Kazakhstan’s chairmanship have been completed. At the same time Kassym-Jomart Tokayev emphasized that “the CSTO is not just a military partnership; it is a unique mechanism that unites our efforts and resources to protect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of our states”.

Sergey Saenko, international observer

 

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