SAMARKAND, Uzbekistan -- Kazakh President Qasym-Zhomart Toqaev says his country supports the territorial integrity of all nations as troops from traditional ally Russia continue to occupy parts of Ukraine after invading more than eight months ago.
Speaking at a summit of the Organization of Turkic States on November 11, Toqaev said Kazakhstan fully "supports the UN's charter" on territorial integrity and the sovereignty of countries.
"This principle fully corresponds to our nation's interests. We must pay especially important attention to this principle," Toqaev said.
Toqaev stressed that Kazakhstan "connects West and East, South and North," therefore more attention must be paid to cooperation between Central Asian nations and other parts of the world.
"During the ongoing transformation period, it is important to boost transportation and communication potential," Toqaev said, adding that the international transportation route connecting Kazakhstan with Turkey via Azerbaijan should be a priority for the Organization of Turkic States.
Toqaev has neither officially supported nor condemned Russia's ongoing unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, although earlier this year he said that Kazakhstan will never recognize Russia-backed separatists in Ukraine's eastern regions of Luhansk and Donetsk.
The summit of the leaders of Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkey, and Uzbekistan was held in the ancient Uzbek city of Samarkand.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and the former president of Turkmenistan, Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov, also attended the summit, which ended with the signing of several documents, including a joint declaration on cooperation between the group's member states and an agreement on the creation of a common Turkic Foundation.
The Organization of Turkic States, formerly known as the Turkic Council, was established in October 2009 with Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Turkey as the group's founding members. Uzbekistan joined the organization in September 2019.
Hungary and Turkmenistan joined the grouping as observers in 2018 and 2021, respectively.
In 2020, Ukrainian Deputy Foreign Minister Emine Dzheppar said her country wanted to be an observer, as well.
