Two years ago, US vice-president Dick Cheney visited Kazakhstan on a trip which owed much to his own personal relationship with the country and its rulers but which also cast light on the broader interest of the US in the nation.
“I’m delighted to have the opportunity to spend some time with you here in Astana,” Mr Cheney said to Nursultan Nazarbayev, Kazakhstan’s president. “We met 10 years ago, when I was in private life and it’s a pleasure to renew our friendship.”
