The authorities of Kazakhstan currently do not feel and do not see any threats from Russia, Foreign Minister of the Republic Mukhtar Tleuberdi said during a joint press conference with US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken. At the same time, he stressed that Kazakhstan does not help Russia evade sanctions.
“Kazakhstan is a member of the Eurasian Economic Union, the CSTO, the CIS, along with other states that border Russia or are located in this region, we consider relations with Russia as an alliance that functions within these multilateral structures,” said Mr. Tleuberdi ( quote by nur.kz).
The minister added that Kazakhstan continues to pursue a multi-vector foreign policy for mutually beneficial cooperation with all countries of the world.
Mr. Tleuberdi noted that Kazakhstan is trying to avoid any possibility of sanctions evasion by Russian companies. He stressed that there is not a single company and not a single sector in the republic that would be under secondary US sanctions. However, the minister said that the situation is difficult for Kazakhstan, because the republic’s economy is interconnected with Russia’s.
Mr. Blinken, in turn, said that Washington understands the consequences that sanctions against Russia have on Kazakhstan and other Central Asian countries. He stated that the United States issues special licenses and supports countries of the C5 + 1 format (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan).
The Secretary of State also thanked Kazakhstan for the fact that the republic provides humanitarian assistance to Ukraine, and also continues to receive more than 200,000 Russian citizens who have fled their country.
In addition, Mr. Blinken said that the United States strongly supports the reforms of Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, which he announced in March last year. Then Mr. Tokayev outlined the goals of the reforms, in particular, the transition from a super-presidential form of government to a presidential republic with a “strong parliament”, a ban on the closest relatives of the head of state from holding public office, a transition to a mixed electoral system, the creation of a Constitutional Court and enshrining the ban on the death penalty in the Constitution.
Today, February 28, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken arrived in Kazakhstan on a working visit. He held talks with the Foreign Minister, Mr. Tleuberdi, and also met with the President of Kazakhstan, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.