Kazakhstan's attempt to bolster its standing on the world stage was yesterday dealt a blow when the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe postponed a decision on a bid by the central Asian nation to chair the democracy watchdog in 2009.

Russia, along with former Asian Soviet states and most European countries, backed the Kazakh bid. But the US and UK refused to assent, undercutting the consensus required to select a president. The US and UK believe Kazakhstan's record on democracy and human rights make it unfit to chair an organisation dedicated to raising democratic standards. Nicholas Burns, US under-secretary of state, told an OSCE meeting in Brussels that, while Washington applauded the reforms of Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev, "all the stars are not yet in alignment".