Visiting Kazakhstan, Putin Will Discuss Energy Cooperation

JAKARTA - Russian President Vladimir Putin will discuss energy cooperation during his visit to Kazakhstan this week. Putin's journey comes amid tensions in trade with Central Asian countries, which export most of its oil through Russia.

Kazakhstan, which is trying to distance itself from Moscow's war in Ukraine, still relies heavily on Russia to export oil to Western countries and import food, electricity, and processed oil products.

Our countries are collaborating constructively in the oil and gas sector, Putin wrote in the article Russia Kazakhstan: the unity demanded by life and looking to the future for the Kazakhskaya newspaper Pravda reported by Reuters, Wednesday, November 27.

Putin's article comes after Kazakh's energy minister on Monday said his country could sharply increase its crude exports from the port of Ceyhan in Turkey.

Underlining more than 80 percent of Kazakhstan's oil exported to overseas markets via Russia, Putin, who started his visit to Kazakhstan on Wednesday, said he and President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev focused on specific results' in their talks.

Kremlin foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov told reporters on Tuesday, without providing further details, that Putin and Tokayev would sign a protocol to expand oil supply agreements to Kazakhstan.

Putin also said in his article the Russian state nuclear company Rosatom which has been involved in several projects in Kazakhstan is ready for a large-scale new project.

In October, Kazakhstan, a country of 20 million, voted to support the construction of its first nuclear power plant, based on Tokayev-backed plans facing public criticism and concerns that Russia would engage in the project.

Putin's visit also comes amid tensions in agricultural trade following Russia's ban on imports of grains, fruits and other agricultural products from Kazakhstan in October.