Nazarbayev to visit Berlin for talks with Merkel on Ukraine

The leaders of Kazakhstan and Germany will meet in Berlin to discuss a possible meeting in Astana.

President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev will visit Berlin on January 9 to meet with German Chancellor Angela Merkel to discuss the Ukrainian crisis and preparations for possible talks in the “Normandy format” in Astana in the middle of January, Deutsche Welle quotes Steffen Seibert, a spokesman for the German government, as saying in Berlin on January 7.

Seibert didn't say whether the talks in Astana scheduled for January 15 would be held, dpa news agency notes. “I cannot say now whether the meeting will take place and when it may be hold. It's important to achieve real results,” he stressed.

Besides the talks between Merkel and Nazarbayev, a telephone conference of foreign ministers of Russia, Ukraine, France and Germany is expected to take place on January 9. The foreign ministers may meet at the beginning of next week to discuss possible talks in the Kazakh capital.

Photo: dapd