US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice met with Kazakhstan Foreign Minister Kasymzhomart Tokayev on security, energy and democratic reforms, officials said. Department of Defense and White House officials this week. Kazakhstan was among six nations under the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) security bloc that last month called for a deadline for the pull-out from Central Asia of US-led bases. The group, also including Russia, China, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, signed a declaration calling for deadlines for closure of military bases in Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan, set up in 2001 by the US-led coalition that toppled Afghanistan’s Taliban leadership. It was not known whether the base issue cropped up in Tokayev\'s discussions with Rice. Ahead of the talks, State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said Monday he expected them to \"review bilateral relations and mutual interests on a number of different issues, including security, energy, democratic reform and the importance of free and fair presidential elections in Kazakhstan in December.\" Energy-rich Kazakhstan\'s decision to hold the December polls ended a bitter row on the election date, with opponents of long-serving President Nursultan Nazarbayev describing it as a victory. Many supporters of Nazarbayev had wanted the polls to be held in December next year. Kazakhstan has vast proven oil reserves and remains highly attractive to major energy investors from Russia, China and the United States. (AFP)