The President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said that the position of the Russian language in the republic has not weakened, those who claim the opposite are against the truth.
"Those who claim that the position of the Russian language in Kazakhstan has declined, narrowed, and, moreover, became defective, are very much against the truth. This is all reasoning of the devil in order to politicize this or that situation. Why is this being done? That is another question. I know the answer to this question, but that is not what we are discussing now," he said in an interview with the Rossiya 24 TV channel.
Tokayev added that "the position of the Russian language in Kazakhstan has not undergone any deterioration." "I am sure of it," he stressed. At the same time, he confirmed that there is an increasing demand for education in the Kazakh language in the republic. "This, too, must be taken into account. After all, the very name of our state - Kazakhstan - contains the name "Kazakh", which means we must ensure the interests of those people who wish to study the Kazakh language, to send their children to Kazakh kindergartens and Kazakh schools," the president noted.
The leader of Kazakhstan expressed confidence that the importance of the Russian language to the Kazakhs also stems from the republic's geographic location.
"We have a clear understanding that without the Russian language, of course, it will be very difficult for Kazakhs. Geographically we have the longest state border in the world. We are, as they say, God-given neighbors, and Kazakhs need to have a good command of the Russian language, but also know their own language," he concluded.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: official website of the President of the Russian Federation
Based on materials from RIA Novosti