TOKYO, December 25. /TASS/. Kazakhstan maintains friendly relations with both Russia and Ukraine and regularly urges the countries to settle their conflict diplomatically, Kazakh Foreign Minister Mukhtar Tileuberdi said in an interview with Japan’s NHK television channel that was aired on Sunday.

"Russia and Ukraine are historically friendly states for Kazakhstan. President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev regularly communicates with the leaders of both countries, urging them to sit down at the negotiating table to find a peaceful and diplomatic solution to the current conflict," the minister said.

He said "Russia and Kazakhstan are linked by close economic relations, and that’s why anti-Russian sanctions have a negative impact on the Kazakh economy".

"We don’t join the sanctions against Russia, but at the same time we are committed to the principle that [the economy of the country] won’t be used by various enterprises to circumvent the restrictive measures," Tileuberdi said.

He said Kazakh officials also propose to foreign companies that shut down their offices in Russia because of the sanctions that they move their business to the Central Asian country.

The minister said Kazakhstan conducts multilateral and balanced diplomacy, building relations with Russia, China, the neighboring states of Central Asia, as well as with the European Union, UK, the US and Japan at the same time.

"We pay great attention to the development of Kazakhstan's transport and logistics potential and expect to attract investors to become a hub linking Europe and Asia," he said.

Tileuberdi called relations between Astana and Tokyo a "strategic partnership," announcing the intention to develop mutually beneficial cooperation with Japan.

The Kazakh foreign minister and his counterparts from Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan on Saturday held talks in Tokyo with Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi. The participants of the meeting, in particular, spoke in favor of respect for the principles of sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of all countries and stressed the importance of ensuring food, energy and logistics security. They also expressed their intention to develop the partnership between Japan and the countries of Central Asia, noting the opportunities for cooperation in the fields of investment, trade, health, agriculture and education. It was the ninth time since 2004 that talks in this format were held.