"Russian vector remains highest priority of Kazakh foreign policy"

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said during talks with his Kazakh counterpart Beibut Atamkulov that Moscow and Astana will continue their active efforts to strengthen the strategic partnership.

"Today we will sign an action plan for cooperation between the two foreign ministries for the next two years,” Lavrov stressed.

He also congratulated Kazakhstan on its very successful participation in the work of the UN Security Council as its non-permanent member in 2017-2018.

In addition, Lavrov noted the important role of Kazakhstan in solving the Syrian problem, adding that a new international meeting in Astana will be held in mid-February.

The new Kazakh Foreign Minister, in turn, said that Astana was ready to pursue a policy of strengthening and developing relations with Moscow.

"The Russian vector remains the highest priority of Kazakhstan's foreign policy. Astana highly appreciates the current high level of relations between our countries,” Atamkulov said.

He also stressed that the country's President Nursultan Nazarbayev has repeatedly stated that relations between Kazakhstan and Russia are the benchmark of interstate relations.

"We are ready to continue the policy of strengthening and expanding good-neighborly and trusting relations between our countries," RIA Novosti cited the head of the Kazakh Foreign Ministry as saying.

In addition, Atamkulov invited Lavrov to visit Astana.

"I would like to inform you that I invited Sergey Viktorovich Lavrov to pay a return visit to Astana. I am convinced that the results of our meeting and the further cooperation of our foreign affairs agencies will further strengthen Kazakh-Russian cooperation and give new impetus to our good neighborly relations," the Kazakh foreign minister stressed.