Kazakhstan moved to reduce its dependency on Russia on Friday, signing a US-backed agreement to supply oil for a key Caspian-Mediterranean pipeline that will provide an alternative energy source for Europe.

The agreement signed by Nursultan Nazarbayev, president of Kazakhstan, and Ilham Aliyev, president of Azerbaijan, resolves one of the outstanding issues to be settled before a long sought-after visit to the White House by Mr Nazarbayev, analysts said. A spokesman for the Kazakh embassy in Washington said the two sides were working on a date for the visit, expected in the coming months.