Kazakhstan’s parliament has ratified a strategic partnership with Azerbaijan that has positive implications for Astana’s future dealings with Western countries promoting security in the Caspian region. On June 23 the Senate (upper chamber) of Kazakhstan’s parliament approved the bill on the ratification of an agreement... MORE

This year Kazakhstan's Journalists Day was marked by a massive protest rally in Almaty on June 24. The rally was unprecedented in scale and united almost all media outlets regardless their political views. The demonstration was organized by the Union of Journalists of Kazakhstan, the... MORE

Kazakhstan’s President Nursultan Nazarbayev has placed Caspian security high on his agenda, not only as a means of promoting foreign assistance programs but also in generating further help from Moscow. On June 21 a three-day joint special exercise involving Kazakhstan and Russia, ended in the... MORE

On June 16 in Almaty, Presidents Nursultan Nazarbayev of Kazakhstan and Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan signed a framework agreement to create a trans-Caspian "Kazakhstan-Azerbaijan oil transport system" that would feed Kazakh oil into the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline. The agreement is being described as "historic" by the... MORE

During his June 6 visit to Tehran Kazakh Foreign Minister Kasymzhomart Tokayev extended a message of friendship from President Nursultan Nazarbayev to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. In the letter the Kazakh leader emphasized that the Iranian nuclear crisis goes beyond Tehran's long-standing confrontation with Washington... MORE

There is every reason to believe that Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev's talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in the Russian resort town of Sochi on May 20 were highly successful for Astana. Putin generously offered his Kazakh counterpart Russian military equipment and, in what seems... MORE

Kazakhstan is boosting its Caspian security through the successful implementation of foreign military and security-assistance programs. These have helped Kazakhstan to develop its maritime border capabilities by providing military hardware, technical advice, and spare parts. Astana has included naval and border security packages into most... MORE

Following U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney's visit to Kazakhstan May 5-6, Russian officials and executives moved to intensify Moscow's energy maneuverings in Central Eurasia. While Cheney was in Astana, Russian First Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev traveled to Uzbekistan for talks with President Islam Karimov.... MORE