JEDDAH — Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has agreed to restore the former name of the country’s capital just three years after he renamed it in honor of his predecessor, his spokesperson said Tuesday.

One of Tokayev’s first moves upon taking office in 2019 after President Nursultan Nazarbayev stepped down was to call for Kazakhstan’s capital, Astana, to be dubbed Nur-Sultan instead.

Tokayev’s spokesman, Ruslan Zheliban, said the president agreed to the name change after an initiative by a group of parliament members, reports AP. — Agencies