Putin and Tokayev declare deepening of cooperation within the CSTO

At the opening of the 18th Forum of Kazakhstan – Russia Interregional Cooperation, Vladimir Putin, President of the Russian Federation, and Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, President of Kazakhstan, spoke about the main achievements of cooperation between the two states.
Kazakhstan and Russia have succeeded in building a mutually beneficial strategic partnership based on friendly and good-neighbourly relations. The parties especially noted active interaction within the framework of international organizations and integration alliances, in particular within the Collective Security Treaty Organization.
During the meeting, the presidents of Russia and Kazakhstan signed a Declaration on the Occasion of the 30th Anniversary of Diplomatic Relations between the two countries.
The declaration states, among other things, the importance of avoiding nuclear war. “The Russian Federation and the Republic of Kazakhstan presume that there can be no winners in a nuclear war and it must never be unleashed,” the document reads.
The declaration also notes that Russia and Kazakhstan reaffirm their support for the Treaty on a Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone in Central Asia of September 8, 2006 and note the importance of completing the process of institutionalizing it through ratification of the protocol to the treaty by all nuclear-weapon states.