He humiliated Putin face-to-face – VG

Less than 20 minutes ago

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It happened during the economic forum in St. Petersburg, where Putin spoke on Friday.

Kassym-Jomart Tokayev (69) is the president of Kazakhstan, which has been one of Russia’s closest allies throughout Putin’s term.

But the president of Kazakhstan outright humiliated Putin in St. Petersburg.

Asked by Putin “Minister of Propaganda” Margarita Simonjan, in a debate in which both Putin and Tokayev participatedused President of Kazakhstan this word about the two rebel republics of Donbas:

– Quasi-states!

Tokayev thus spoke of the two so-called “people’s republics” of Donetsk and Luhansk. Putin laid the groundwork for the invasion of Ukraine a few days earlier recognized Donetsk and Luhansk as independent states.

After the invasion began, Putin said they would liberate the Russians in these two areas. Currently there are hard fights going on between Ukrainian and Russian forces in this area.

– Total chaos

– If all nations that wanted liberation got it, then there would be 500-600 countries instead of the 193 that are now members of the UN – there will be total chaos. And we will stick to that principle of quasi-states, which – in our opinion – Luhansk and Donetsk are, said the President of Kazakhstan on stage.

Vladimir Putin did not unexpectedly get stiff in the mask where he sat right next to his presidential colleague – but Simonjan thanked him “for an open answer”.

Tokayev said it was also inappropriate to recognize, for example, Taiwan, Kosovo, Abkhazia and South Ossetia.

The day after Tokayev’s statement, Kazakhstan’s oil exports through the Russian city of Novorossiysk were suddenly severely restricted, reports theins.ru.

The official reason is that the port authorities have to clear away mines from the Second World War – which they have unexpectedly found, writes Kommersant.

Honor?

On Monday, Kazakhstan responded by blocking 1,700 railway cars with Russian coal, reports Kyiv Post.

Rumors have it that Tokayev had said no thanks to receiving the Russian order – named after Alexander Nevsky. Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov has stated that such an honor was not planned, but Tokayev’s office has then confirmed the refusal.

Russia and Kazakhstan have strong ties, including through the Eurasian Economic Union, an economic union between Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Armenia.

The clash between the two presidents comes less than half a year after Russia sent so-called peacekeepers to Kazakhstan to get order after the large demonstrations there. Russia sent troops on behalf of the Collective Security Pact (CSTO), a grouping of six former Soviet states, at the request of Tokayev.

The statements of the Kazakh president in St. Petersburg have been commented on by the “quasi-states” themselves:

“He has the right to think so, but he can not close his eyes to reality and hide from the changing world order,” said Vladislav Deinego, Donetsk’s “foreign minister.” theins.ru.

Donetsk’s top leader, Denis Pushilin, is reacting by saying “we will survive”.

Russian politician Konstantin Zatulin, who is particularly concerned with relations with Russia’s closest neighbors, threatened Kazakhstan with measures “as for Ukraine”.

– The fact that Kazakhstan did not recognize and do not recognize (Donetsk and Luhansk) was clear even without this statement from Tokayev. But what Tokayev said about this in the presence of President Putin seems to be honest, public, but in my opinion it was wrong, says Zatulin.

– I have no doubt that our allies understand their obligations, Zatulin believes – and believes that the President of Kazakhstan could at least have had the sense to remain silent about what he meant.

He also made a small threat that Kazakhstan is in the same situation as Ukraine:

– They know only too well that a number of regions have a predominantly Russian population, and have little to do with what is called Kazakhstan.

Party secretary Andrei Turchak of Putin’s United Russia party has since asked Zatulin to “keep his opinions to himself.”

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