Kazakh President welcomes Russian President Vladimir Putin in Astana

Kazakh president Kassym-Jomart Tokayev welcomes Russian president Vladimir Putin to Kazakhstan with an official ceremony.

The Russian leader's visit to Astana comes while Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Iranian counterpart Ebrahim Raisi are in Uzbekistan, amid renewed diplomatic interest in the region.

Central Asia's former Soviet republics have sought to diversify their partnerships as Moscow's sway over the region, which it considers as being under its sphere of influence, has waned since Russia began its assault in Ukraine.