Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, who was sworn in as Kazakhstan's second president this week, revealed to the Yisrael Hayom daily after his election, that when he served as foreign minister, he urged the Iranians to recognize the State of Israel and to cooperate with it. Tokayev said, "Iran is a very important player in the Middle East, but it must also be positive about cooperation with its neighbors, as well as with other countries, including Israel. I do not believe that Iran will take any steps toward Israel."
He added, "I remember that 15 or 15 years ago, I met with the then Iranian foreign minister, who told me that his country would never recognize the State of Israel. I told him: 'You cannot also not recognize the existence of the moon and the sun, but they exist. The same applies to Israel. Israel exists as an independent state, it is a very important country, the only democracy in the Middle East, so you have to recognize it and develop cooperation with it, as we do."