Indeed, each country needs the other in fulfilling its goals. Therefore, this paper argues that, to the greatest extent possible, both sides focus their energies with respect to the other on advancing these commonalities. Immediate events will inevitably impinge on this bi-lateral process, but they, too, must be addressed through serious discussion, not confrontation, and within the context of longer-term roles and objectives. In sum, this paper concludes that, to a greater extent than in the past, both countries need to nest their bilateral relationship within broader policies directed towards the Central Asian region as a whole.

Silk Road Paper, S. Frederick Starr, Bulat Sultanov, S. Enders Wimbush, Fatima Kukeyeva, Svante E. Cornell and Askar Nursha, Looking Forward: Kazakhstan and the United States, September 2014.