Kazakh President, Obama Meet In Hague

Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbaev (left) meets with U.S. President Barack Obama at the U.S. ambassador's residence in The Hague on March 25.

U.S. President Barack Obama has met with Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbaev at the U.S. Embassy in The Hague.

U.S. officials did not say what was discussed.

Kazakhstan is a close ally of Russia and a key member of the Moscow-led Customs Union.

But Nazarbaev has appeared lukewarm in his comments about Russia's seizure of Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula.

Northern regions of Kazakhstan that border Russia have large Russian-speaking communities.

Obama and Nazarbaev spoke via phone on March 11 about the Ukraine crisis, one day before Nazarbaev canceled a visit to Moscow.

Obama and Nazarbaev are in the Netherlands for a nuclear security summit.

The two presidents issued a joint statement on March 25 on their countries' "shared commitment to nonproliferation and strengthening nuclear security."
Based on reporting by AP and RFE/RL