“It’s difficult for me to comment on the transfer of power in Russia (in 2008, when Dmitry Medvedev was elected as a president, and Vladimir Putin retained his influence as a prime minister - KazTAG), since it is a different state. As for Kazakhstan, there really was a kind of political innovation. Since we have Nursultan Abishevich Nazarbayev, founding father of Kazakhstan, the person who deserves great respect, the leader of the nation. He plays the role of the leader of the nation, in the Kazakh language it sounds like Elbasy. And he still chairs the Security Council. As for me, I am a legally elected president, head of state, supreme commander. There are no contradictions between us, ” he said, answering the question of Zhanna Nemtsova about the association between Putin-Medvedev and Nazarbayev-Tokayev tandem for the author’s program, “Nemtsova. Interview ”on Deutsche Welle.
"It’s not a secret", the head of state continued, "that we are consulting with each other".
“Sometimes I ask him for some advice as an experienced person in public administration. Therefore, in general, we do not have any so-called tandem. And he said that there is no dual power, we have no tandem. There is a legally elected president. Recently, during a meeting with the party leaders, Nursultan Abishevich Nazarbayev urged everyone to unite around the new president. I am grateful to him for this," he said.
When asked in which specific issues Nazarbayev plays a major role, Tokayev replied that "yes, indeed, Nursultan Abishevich Nazarbayev plays an important, if not decisive, role in the strategic issues: foreign and domestic policy."
“But at the same time, he deeply understands the need for sole government administration, therefore, as for the operational governing of the state, and also taking into account the fact that I have extensive experience in foreign policy, and, in addition, I must remind that I worked as a Prime Minister of the country, in principle, there are no problems here. Sometimes I turn to him with some questions," he said.
He added, "we consult on some personnel issues, share opinions on foreign policy and integration within the framework of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU).
Photo source: picture from an open source