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Kazakh president wishes peace and happiness to Orthodox believers

“Relying on human values, respecting and supporting each other, we maintain peace and harmony in our common home,” the president said

ASTANA, January 7 (Itar-Tass) — Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev has visited the Assumption Cathedral in Astana, where he congratulated Orthodox believers upon Christmas, the president’s press service said on Saturday.

“In multinational Kazakhstan traditional religions peacefully co-exist with each other. Together we mark many religious holidays. The government’s respectful and careful attitude to religious feelings of citizens is one of the important principles of interconfessional harmony in our country,” Nazarbayev said.

He underlined that at present, Kazakhstan serves as a pattern of how “it is necessary to maintain peace and dialogue among ethnic groups and religions.”

“Relying on human values, respecting and supporting each other, we maintain peace and harmony in our common home,” the president said.

Over 4 million citizens in Kazakhstan with the population of 16.5 million are Orthodox Christians.

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