On Wednesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin accepted an invitation from Kazakhstan’s President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev to travel to the Central Asian nation next year.

“I appreciate it. I would be happy to visit Kazakhstan,” Putin expressed to Tokayev during remarks aired by state media.

This upcoming trip would be Putin’s fifth journey to Kazakhstan since the onset of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, although a specific date for the visit has yet to be revealed.

Kazakhstan, situated between Russia to the north and China to the east, has been striving to maintain a careful diplomatic stance regarding the conflict in Ukraine.

Last Thursday, Tokayev and the leaders of four other Central Asian nations met with U.S. President Donald Trump in Washington. Trump highlighted critical minerals as a major topic of discussion, while Tokayev celebrated the “beginning of a new era of interactions between the United States and Central Asia.”

The Kremlin noted that Putin was “very eager” to hear Tokayev’s update about the discussions held in Washington during the latter’s visit to Moscow this week.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov informed the press that the Russian and Kazakh leaders aimed to explore collaborative projects and the implications of U.S. sanctions on Russian energy giants Lukoil and Rosneft, both of which have substantial investments in Kazakhstan.

During their meeting at the Kremlin on Wednesday, Tokayev and Putin committed to continuing the signing and execution of agreements that further enhance their strategic partnership and economic collaboration, with bilateral trade projected to reach nearly $30 billion in 2024.

Putin emphasized that Tokayev’s visit elevated their mutual relations to a “higher intergovernmental level.”