Mr Putin passed on his warmest wishes to Mr Nazarbayev on his birthday. Both leaders said they had confidence in the continued consistent development of good-neighbourly relations and the strategic partnership and alliance between the two countries.
Mr Nazarbayev congratulated Mr Putin on the International Olympic Committee’s decision to award the 2014 Winter Olympics to Sochi, saying it was a great success for the entire friendly Russian people.
The two Presidents also discussed preparations for the upcoming summit meetings of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (in Bishkek in August), the CIS, Eurasian Economic Community and Collective Security Treaty Organisation (in Dushanbe in October) and bilateral events.
Earlier in the day, Mr Putin sent a message of congratulations to Mr Nazarbayev on his birthday.
The President’s message reads, in particular:
“Kazakhstan today is achieving considerable success in social and economic development and consistent work to strengthen the legal and democratic foundations of its statehood. The country is becoming increasingly influential on the international stage. These achievements are to a large degree the result of your many years of fruitful work as head of state, work that has earned you the deserved reputation of a genuinely national leader.
We greatly value your contribution towards enriching the wide-ranging strategic partnership between our two countries and to facilitating integration in the Eurasian area. I value the trusting personal relations that we have established. Our regular contacts are substantial and never fail to give a tangible boost to bilateral cooperation and help to bring important new initiatives and projects to our cooperation agenda”.