Kazakh Leader Chooses Moscow for His First Visit After Re-election

Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev will come to Moscow on May 8-9, attending Victory Day celebrations in the Russian capital as part of his first foreign visit after re-election, the president's press service announced in a Monday statement.

ALMATY (Sputnik) – Nazarbayev will also participate in an informal meeting of CIS leaders, as well as a meeting of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council, according to the statement.

Nazarbayev was re-elected as Kazakhstan's president in the April 26 elections, where he received 97.75 percent of the votes. He was sworn in on April 29, beginning his fifth consecutive term since 1991, after becoming the country's first leader since the collapse of the Soviet Union.

The Kazakh leader has said that his main goals for his new term of office include boosting his country's economic growth and maintaining current friendly ties.

Nazarbayev officially confirmed his attendance of the May 9 Moscow Victory Day Parade on April 27.

Russia has invited a number of world leaders to attend the parade organized in commemoration of the 70th anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany.

According to Kremlin Chief of Staff Sergei Ivanov, the leaders of at least 25 countries have accepted Moscow's invitation to attend the parade, which will be the largest of its kind in Russia's modern history.