Russian, Kazakh presidents meet to strengthen ties

MOSCOW, Aug. 19 (Xinhua) -- Russian President Vladimir Putin held talks with visiting Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev in Russia's Black Sea resort of Sochi on Friday.

"I am very glad that our meeting is certainly imparting an additional impetus to the development of our trust-based strategic partnership," Putin said in the meeting, according to a Kremlin press release.

Many events are planned to mark the 30th anniversary of Russia-Kazakhstan diplomatic relations in October, including joint military exercises, said Putin, who also praised the two countries' trade and economic relations.

"We have no reason to be pessimistic about the future of our cooperation ... I want to give more momentum to our bilateral cooperation in all areas," Tokayev said.