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| Version 2 | Version 3 |
|---|---|
| Medvedev holds Kazakhstan talks | Medvedev holds Kazakhstan talks |
| (about 4 hours later) | |
| Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has held talks with the president of Kazakhstan, during the first stop on his maiden foreign trip. | Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has held talks with the president of Kazakhstan, during the first stop on his maiden foreign trip. |
| Mr Medvedev met the president of the oil-rich Central Asian state, Nursultan Nazarbayev, in the capital, Astana. | Mr Medvedev met the president of the oil-rich Central Asian state, Nursultan Nazarbayev, in the capital, Astana. |
| His next stop, on Friday, is China, where he will hold talks with President Hu Jintao and other leaders. | His next stop, on Friday, is China, where he will hold talks with President Hu Jintao and other leaders. |
| Analysts say Mr Medvedev's choice to head to the East rather than West shows where Russia's foreign priorities lie. | Analysts say Mr Medvedev's choice to head to the East rather than West shows where Russia's foreign priorities lie. |
| 'Highest priority' | 'Highest priority' |
| The BBC's Russia analyst, Steven Eke, says Mr Medvedev is looking to maintain Russia's influence in Kazakhstan. | The BBC's Russia analyst, Steven Eke, says Mr Medvedev is looking to maintain Russia's influence in Kazakhstan. |
| During talks in the Kazakh capital he urged the government to keep exporting most of its oil through Russian pipelines. | During talks in the Kazakh capital he urged the government to keep exporting most of its oil through Russian pipelines. |
| Mr Nazarbayev said relations with Russia remained the highest prority in the country's foreign policy. | Mr Nazarbayev said relations with Russia remained the highest prority in the country's foreign policy. |
| Medvedev looks East on first tripUK peers urge strong Russia ties | Medvedev looks East on first tripUK peers urge strong Russia ties |
| "Kazakhstan and Russia have the most comprehensive bilateral legal base which can be imagined in relations between the two neighbouring sovereign states," he said. | "Kazakhstan and Russia have the most comprehensive bilateral legal base which can be imagined in relations between the two neighbouring sovereign states," he said. |
| The country, central Asia's biggest oil producer, is gradually trying to break Russia's stranglehold over Kazakh energy export routes. | The country, central Asia's biggest oil producer, is gradually trying to break Russia's stranglehold over Kazakh energy export routes. |
| But Russia wants Kazakhstan to sign up to a long-term deal to export oil through the pipeline leading from Baku, Azerbaijan, to the Russian port of Novorossiysk. | But Russia wants Kazakhstan to sign up to a long-term deal to export oil through the pipeline leading from Baku, Azerbaijan, to the Russian port of Novorossiysk. |
| Russia has been prompted to look eastwards because of what it perceives as Western attempts to limit its diplomatic ambitions, analysts say. | Russia has been prompted to look eastwards because of what it perceives as Western attempts to limit its diplomatic ambitions, analysts say. |
| The start of talks on a strategic partnership pact between Russia and the EU, for example, has been blocked for two years because of political disputes between EU member states and their giant neighbour. | The start of talks on a strategic partnership pact between Russia and the EU, for example, has been blocked for two years because of political disputes between EU member states and their giant neighbour. |