Tokayev called not to turn the Russian language into a political issue

Tokayev called not to turn the Russian language into a political topic

President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said that the Russian language should not be politicized. He announced this during a meeting with the Secretary General of the International Organization for the Russian Language (MORYA), Natalya Bocharova.

During the meeting, the parties discussed cooperation in the fields of education, science, and culture. Tokayev emphasized the need to take into account the interests of all member states of the organization when implementing joint projects.

"Language should unite people, serve mutual understanding, and should not become a subject of politics," the Kazakh leader said.

Bocharova, in turn, thanked Tokayev for supporting the organization's activities. Tokayev had proposed the creation of an international organization for the Russian language on December 28, 2021, in St. Petersburg during negotiations with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. This initiative was supported by Russia and Belarus.

MORYA has stated that it is open to membership for other countries, including those outside the CIS.

On September 21, Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke by phone with his Kazakh counterpart. During the conversation, the leaders expressed their firm commitment to the further rapid development of relations, strategic partnership, and alliance between Russia and Kazakhstan. In addition, during the conversation, Tokayev congratulated his Russian counterpart on the successful holding of the State Duma elections. "Yedinaya Rossiya" (United Russia) won the elections.

On July 1, the new constitution, adopted as a result of a republican referendum, came into force in Kazakhstan. The main change was the transition from a bicameral parliament to a unicameral congress. In addition, the new constitution strengthened the official status of the Russian language in Kazakhstan.