U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney said on Friday that Kazakhstan is an important strategic partner of the United States in Central Asia and he called for closer cooperation on anti-terror efforts and in regional security and energy fields.

Kazakhstan and the United States established a strategic partnership in preventing the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, the energy field and the fight against terror, Cheney told a joint press conference after holding talks with Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev in the capital Astana.

He thanked Kazakhstan for its support and cooperation in the U.S.-led war in Afghanistan and Iraq as well as the global war against terror.

Asked about Iran's nuclear issue, Cheney said the United States was committed to settling the crisis through diplomatic means.

"I frankly think that the example provided by Kazakhstan some years ago when they achieved independence, of giving up the inventory of nuclear weapons that were deployed in Kazakhstan, was an outstanding example that the Iranians might want to consider."

As for the growing tension between Moscow and Washington, Cheney said: "We don't look upon Russia as an enemy by any means."

But "I expressed concern... that Russia is using its control over energy resources to gain political leverage of various kinds" on European countries.

Cheney arrived in Astana Friday for a two-day visit aimed at expanding Washington's influence in Central Asia and maximizing access to the vast oil and gas reserves in the country, analysts said.

According to the website of the U.S.-Kazakhstan Business Association, the Central Asian country has potential oil reserves of as much as 110 billion barrels.

Source: Xinhua