Russian expert lauds Tokayev’s political dignity and clear vision of multi-vector foreign policy
Russian political expert for Central Asian affairs Arkady Dubnov named three reasons why he thinks that President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev's wide-ranging interview published by Egemen Qazaqstan newspaper is 'a step forward', Kazinform News Agency cites Tengrinews.kz.
Dubnov said that for him personally the part in which Kassym-Jomart Tokayev shares his assessment of the bloody January events is 'a step forward' in terms of conclusions. According to him, from the interview the readers learnt that President Tokayev directly informed the first president that a system of dual power in the country that was formed after he had assumed the presidency in 2019 almost tore it apart.
As for three reasons as to why the Russian expert believes Tokayev’s interview can be considered ‘a step forward’, the first one is that President Tokayev presented his take on the January events two years later.
Secondly, it was necessary to quash the rumors that the Kazakh leader is planning to hold a referendum on the Constitution in 2026 to run again and to break his own promises to stay in power for only one 7-year term until 2029.
And, thirdly, President Tokayev shared his thoughts on the wave of commentaries and defamations related to the recent release of Nursultan Nazarbayev’s memoirs “My Life” who refused to shoulder responsibility for the situation with of dual power in the country.
The political expert expressed confidence time will show whether Tokayev will be able to keep his promise of doubling Kazakhstan’s GDP by 2029, the last year in his seven-year term.
Dubnov went on to praise Kassym-Jomart Tokayev’s high level of human and political dignity as well as clear vision of the focal points of his multi-vector foreign policy outlined in his interview.
He also applauded the Head of State for giving the interview in Kazakh, thus, demonstrating the need to respect the symbols of independent Kazakhstan and the importance of development of the state language.
