Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived Wednesday for a two-day visit to Kazakhstan, his “true ally” yet courted by China and the West. It must notably address the realization of energy projects in this Central Asian country.
Mr. Putin will discuss these projects as well as the international situation during a meeting on Wednesday with his Kazakh counterpart Kassym-Jomart Tokayev. On Thursday, the second day of this visit, he will participate in a session of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), a military alliance headed by Moscow.
In a speech published Wednesday in the newspaper La Pravda of Kazakhstan, Mr. Putin praised a “life-tested and future-oriented alliance” between Moscow and this former Soviet republic and praised a “true ally”.
“We have been and remain a reliable strategic partner and an ally of Russia in this difficult period of history, filled with conflicts and disasters,” assured Kassym-Jomart Tokaïev, in a letter published by the media Russian Izvestia.
Balancing
Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, this is Mr. Putin’s 11th visit to Central Asia, a region rich in natural resources where Moscow’s historical influence remains strong although contested by China and Westerners.
Vladimir Putin welcomed the fact that Kazakhstan and Russia are “adopting similar positions” internationally, while Astana maintains a balancing act on the war in Ukraine by supporting Ukrainian territorial integrity without openly condemning the invasion Russian.
In September, Mr. Tokayev considered that Russia was “militarily invincible” while assuring that “in Kazakhstan, the population has real sympathy for the Ukrainian people.”
“Large-scale projects”
Kazakhstan, like other Central Asian countries, is accused by the West of allowing Russia to circumvent the sanctions they imposed on it for the invasion of Ukraine, which Astana denies.
The leading Central Asian power, Kazakhstan is a military and economic ally of Russia with which it shares more than 7,500 kilometers of border.
A border which, according to Mr. Tokaïev, guarantees “eternal friendship and true good neighborliness”. However, the Kazakh president ordered this week to strengthen his country’s territorial defense, worried about the escalation in Ukraine.
During this summit, the two heads of state could discuss the construction of the first nuclear power plant in Kazakhstan, a country which produces 43% of the world’s uranium but chronically lacks electricity.
Russia, via its state company Rosatom, is in the running, as are China, South Korea and France.
Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday that Rosatom was “ready to launch new large-scale projects” in Kazakhstan. He also welcomed the “cooperation in the gas and oil sector”.
But Kazakhstan, a landlocked country which must export 80% of its oil via Russia, is trying to develop alternative routes, notably via the Caspian Sea.
This article was automatically published. Sources: ats / afp
