Nazarbayev Did Not Consult With Putin Before Resigning From Presidential Post - Kremlin

Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev did not consult with Russian President Vladimir Putin before making the decision on his resignation and on his successor's candidacy, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Thursday

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 21st March, 2019) Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev did not consult with Russian President Vladimir Putin before making the decision on his resignation and on his successor's candidacy, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Thursday.

Nazarbayev announced his resignation on Tuesday in a televised address to the nation, saying Kassym-Jomart Tokayev would lead the country until the presidential election scheduled for 2020. Tokayev was sworn in as acting president on Wednesday. Prior to announcing his resignation, Nazarbayev had a phone conversation with Putin, the Kazakh leader's press service said on Tuesday.

"No, Nursultan Abishevich did not consult, and, of course, this was out of the question. But he certainly considered it possible and necessary to inform the president of Russia about what became known to the public just a few hours after the conversation," Peskov told reporters when asked whether Nazarbayev consulted with Putin before deciding on resignation and on choosing his successor.

The phone call was probably a tribute to the special allied and friendly relations of the two countries, as well as to the special personal relations between Nazarbayev and Putin, Peskov assumed.

He also explained that the reason for the lack of information about the phone conversation between Putin and Nazarbayev on the Kremlin website before the Kazakh leader's resignation was special nature of the conversation, since Nazarbayev found it possible and necessary to notify Putin of his decision in advance.

"In this case, we considered it correct to let our Kazakh partners themselves give information about the conversation to the extent that they felt was necessary, which is exactly what was done," Peskov said.

Nazarbayev, 78, held a number of senior posts in the Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Nazarbayev remained in power, becoming president of the independent Republic of Kazakhstan. He was the last leader of a post-Soviet state heading his country since the Soviet era.