ASTANA, November 9. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin described Russia and Kazakhstan as the closest allies during talks with his Kazakh counterpart Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.

"We say that Russia and Kazakhstan are allies. I would like to stress that, at least in Russia’s view, we are not just allies, we are the closest allies," Putin emphasized.

According to the Russian leader, such a relationship has been built over years. "I would like to thank Kassym-Jomart [Tokayev] for preserving this trend toward boosting our relations which certainly benefit our peoples," Putin said. He added that this was also supported by the figures in bilateral trade.