Kazakhstan

ALMATY, Dec 28 (Reuters) - An Iranian chess player on Wednesday took part in an international tournament in Kazakhstan without a hijab for the second day running, according to a Reuters journalist present.

A Reuters witness at the FIDE World Rapid and Blitz Chess Championships in Almaty, Kazakhstan, saw Sara Khadem competing without a headscarf, a violation of Iran's laws governing female dress code.

ASTANA, November 26. /TASS/: Kazakhstan will focus on relations with Russia and China as it will continue to pursue a balanced and constructive foreign policy, Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said at his inauguration ceremony on Saturday.

ASTANA, November 23. /TASS/: The participants of a session of the Collective Security Council of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) in Yerevan decided to designate Imangali Tasmagambetov as the CSTO Secretary General effective January 1, 2023, the press service of Kazakhstan’s president reported on Wednesday.

"Within the framework of planned rotation, the heads of state decided to appoint Kazakhstan’s representative Imangali Tasmagambetov as the CSTO Secretary General beginning on January 1, 2023, for a three-year term," its statement said.

ASTANA, November 21. /TASS/: Kazakhstan’s incumbent President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev won Sunday’s presidential election, gaining 81.31% of the vote, Chairman of the country’s Central Election Commission Nurlan Abdirov said at a briefing on Monday, citing preliminary data.

"Kassym-Jomart Tokayev gained 81.31% of the vote, or 6,456,392 votes," he specified.

Abdirov added that the data had been provided by territorial election commissions in the cities of Shymkent, Almaty and Astana.

ASTANA, November 20. /TASS/: Given its geopolitical location, Kazakhstan should pursue a multi-vector policy, incumbent President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev told reporters after voting in the Sunday's presidential election.

"I believe that given our geopolitical situaiton, given the fact that we have over $500 billion involved in our economy, given that there are global companies operating in our market, we simply have to pursue a multi-vector, as they say now, foreign policy," Tokayev said.

ASTANA, Nov. 20 (Xinhua) -- Kazakhstan on Sunday held a snap presidential race, and six candidates, including incumbent President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, are running for the Central Asian country's top job.

According to the Central Election Commission, about 11.95 million registered voters will cast their ballots at more than 10,000 polling stations in Kazakhstan and abroad.

Kazakhstan amended its constitution in September this year, extending a presidential term from five to seven years but banning a president from serving consecutive terms.

ASTANA, October 14. /TASS/: Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday said there are external efforts to interfere in political, economic and humanitarian relations between Russia and Central Asian countries.

ASTANA, October 14. /TASS/: Moscow has set its sights on getting Central Asian nations on board Russia's import substitution programs, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at the Russia - Central Asia summit.

"We are interested in your countries joining large-scale Russian initiatives on import substitution and other programs. I am confident that it will benefit the development of all our economies, while acquiring new skills," the Russian leader emphasized.

ASTANA, Oct 14 (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday there was no need for massive new strikes on Ukraine and that Russia was not looking to destroy the country.

Putin told a news conference at the end of a summit in Kazakhstan that his call-up of Russian reservists would be over within two weeks and there were no plans for a further mobilisation.

He also repeated the Kremlin position that Russia was willing to hold talks, although he said they would require international mediation if Ukraine was prepared to take part.

ASTANA, Oct 13 (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin proposed to his Turkish counterpart Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday that Moscow could export more gas via Turkey and turn it into a new supply "hub", bidding to preserve Russia's energy leverage over Europe.

At a meeting in Kazakhstan, Putin said Turkey offered the most reliable route to deliver gas to the European Union, and the proposed platform would allow prices to be set without politics.