Putin held a private meeting with the former Kazakh Nursultan Nazarbayev, and the news caused widespread attention. The details of the meeting are kept secret, but we can infer the background and possible significance of the meeting from some clues.
Kazakh Nursultan Nazarbayev should have been a retiree after stepping down from his ** post four years ago, so Putin's invitation to him for a private meeting seems unusual. Especially considering the delicate relationship between Nazarbayev and the current Kazakh ** Tokayev. Tokayev's handling of the riots, which led to the investigation and arrest of members of the Lao Na family, strained relations between the two.
It is worth noting, however, that despite the constant pressure on Tokayev on the surface, the old man did not openly oppose or resist, but implied acquiescence to all Tokayev's actions. In this case, Putin's invitation to Moscow can be seen as a hint or warning to Tokayev. Putin knew that Tokayev's relationship with Lao Na was delicate, but he still chose to invite Lao Na to Moscow, and there may be some kind of problem behind this.
Putin's relations with Tokayev are not harmonious, and there has always been a secret struggle. After the outbreak of the conflict in Ukraine last year, Putin hoped that Central Asian countries would support the independence of Ukraine's Donetsk and Luhansk regions, but Tokayev publicly expressed his opposition to this position, arguing that it was not in line with the principles of the United Nations. Putin is very unhappy about this.
The contradictions between the two sides gradually became public. Russia's closure of oil transmission equipment and the Caspian Pipeline alliance oil route has caused problems for Kazakhstan's oil exports. In order to reduce his dependence on Russia, Tokayev decided to build a new oil pipeline that bypasses Russia, possibly through Azerbaijan and Turkey, and further to Europe.
At the recent CSTO summit, Putin and Lukashenko emphasized the threat posed by Western countries to the CSTO, while Tokayev said there was no need to overemphasize the existence of an external threat. This shows that Kazakhstan's attitude towards its own interests and international relations is gradually becoming independent of Moscow. No longer obey Russia's demands.
By inviting Nazarbayev to the meeting, Putin may have tried to send a message and pressure to Tokayev through the old Naksharov channel. Putin wants Tokayev to understand that Russia has helped him with the unrest and is now in a position to help Nazarbayev. The meeting sent a hint to Tokayev that Russia is capable of interfering in Kazakhstan's internal affairs and influencing Tokayev's position and political situation.
However, Putin is not hoping to oust Tokayev, who has managed to take power in Kazakhstan over the past few years and was re-elected with a large number of votes in the last election. Putin may have tried to send a signal to Tokayev that Russia can help both Tokayev and Nazarbayev in quelling the unrest.
In general, Putin's private meeting with Nursultan Nazarbayev has a certain sensitivity and importance in the current political situation in Kazakhstan. This could be a way for Putin to send a message and pressure to Tokayev, while also reflecting the decline of Russia's influence in the region, where countries are beginning to consider their own national interests independently and are no longer completely dependent on Russian opinions and instructions.