ASTANA, Kazakhstan — US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday vowed help for Kazakhstan’s independence as he sought larger engagement in Central Asia, the place conventional alliances with Russia have been rattled by the Ukraine invasion.
Blinken may also go to Uzbekistan and meet overseas ministers of all 5 former Soviet republics of Central Asia on his first journey to the area the place neighboring China additionally performs a key function.
“As you know well, the United States strongly supports Kazakhstan’s sovereignty, its independence, its territorial integrity,” Blinken stated in talks on the overseas ministry in Kazakhstan’s capital Astana.
“Sometimes we just say those words and they actually have no meaning. And of course, in this particular time, they have even more resonance than usual,” Blinken stated, referring to Russia’s assault on Ukraine a yr in the past.
Blinken later headed to the imposing palace within the capital to satisfy President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev who voiced “appreciation” for US help for Kazakhstan’s sovereignty.
Tokayev stated, with out clarification earlier than the press, that he had obtained three private messages from President Joe Biden.
“We have built very good and reliable long-term partnerships in so many strategically important areas” with the United States, Tokayev stated.
Blinken advised him that the United States has made “important strides” for larger ties with Kazakhstan lately and would search for sensible methods to do extra with Central Asian nations—which additionally embrace Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan.
Spotlight on sanctions
The journey is essentially the most senior to Central Asia by an official within the Biden administration and comes days after the anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which has obtained billions of {dollars} in Western help.
Central Asian nations have long-standing safety and financial relationships with Russia which have come beneath larger scrutiny because the struggle.
A latest research by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development discovered a spike in EU and British exports to Kazakhstan, Armenia and Kyrgyzstan—a part of a customs union with Russia—and steered that the stream was meant to evade the sweeping Western sanctions on Russia.
The United States on the similar time has sought to spare Central Asia from actions on Russia. Washington has issued a sanctions exemption for the Caspian Pipeline Consortium, which carries Kazakh oil to the West and goes by means of Russia.
Unlike fellow former Soviet republic Belarus, Central Asian nations haven’t rallied behind Moscow over the struggle.
All 5 Central Asian nations abstained or didn’t vote final week on a UN General Assembly decision that demanded that Moscow pull out of Ukraine.
President Vladimir Putin’s justifications for the struggle, which included deploring the remedy of Russian audio system in Ukraine, have rattled nerves in Central Asian nations with sizable Russian minorities.
Kazakhstan, which has the longest land border with Russia at 7,644 kilometers (4,750 miles), has welcomed Russians fleeing army service and referred to as for a diplomatic decision to the struggle that respects worldwide legislation.
Tokayev not too long ago spoke by phone with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, though he additionally visited Putin final yr to reaffirm ties.
China, which the United States views as its most important long-term challenger, has additionally been in search of to increase affect within the adjoining area. President Xi Jinping final yr selected Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan for his first overseas journey because the COVID-19 pandemic.
After Central Asia, Blinken will head to New Delhi for a gathering of the Group of 20 overseas ministers.
He is anticipated to keep away from Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, whom he has solely spoken to by phone because the struggle, with the United States believing that Moscow will not be honest a few negotiated answer. — AFP
Source: www.gmanetwork.com
