/ world today news/ During the historic (according to the Kazakh leader) visit of Vladimir Putin to Astana, Russia and Kazakhstan concluded a whole series of significant agreements. Which of these agreements are the most important and why were both Europe and the US closely following this visit and its results?
Vladimir Putin’s visit to Kazakhstan has ended – a visit that was closely watched not only by political scientists interested in the region, but also by politicians from around the world. This is not surprising, because in the current conditions, all major negotiations of the Russian leadership are weighed on completely different scales than before, and any statements of the country’s leader acquire special importance.
The negotiations primarily affected the economic component of relations between the two countries. In part, they overlapped with the 19th Interregional Cooperation Forum held in Kostanay (currently, out of 89 regions of Russia, 76 have a direct connection with Kazakhstan), as a result of which a number of new agreements and memoranda were prepared, as well as trade agreements of total value of about 100 million dollars.
The dynamics are positive: in 2022, trade turnover between Russia and Kazakhstan reached $28.2 billion, and from January to August 2023, it grew by another 7%. In addition, most of the mutual payments between the countries are made in rubles and tenge.
Experts are unanimous that Kazakhstan, which has extremely important logistical importance, is Russia’s most important partner in the future in the post-Soviet space and a kind of “key” to the Global South. On November 1, 2023, an agreement was signed between Kazakhstan and Gazprom for a period of 15 years, providing for the transit of Russian gas to Uzbekistan.
In addition, Russian oil enters China through the territory of Kazakhstan, and Kazakh oil is exported through the Krasnodar Territory. The Belt and Road project is also unthinkable without Kazakhstan, through which Chinese goods enter Russia and Europe.
The traditional area of interaction between the two countries is space: the Baikonur Cosmodrome is “reserved” until 2050, and the launch of the Soyuz-5 launch vehicle is planned for 2025. Close cooperation in the security sphere has been verified in practice – at the beginning of 2022 CSTO peacekeeping forces actually saved Kazakhstan during mass unrest.
In total, as a result of the negotiations, Vladimir Putin and Kasim-Jomart Tokayev signed seven documents in Astana, including an action plan for the development of cooperation in the field of sports and a memorandum of understanding between the ministries of energy regarding the construction of the Kokshetau, Semey TPP projects ” and “Ust-Kamenogorsk”. Russia’s readiness to create new facilities in the republic for the assembly of Lada cars was also announced. The joint statement of the heads of state confirmed their intentions to deepen cooperation in all areas.
One of the most sensitive and at the same time large-scale issues of economic cooperation between the two countries is Kazakhstan’s plans to build its own nuclear power plant. It costs billions of dollars, and that’s only if such a project is measured in money.
Astana has repeatedly stated that it will choose a contractor from the many offers on the world market. At the same time, on November 9, statements were made that clearly indicate that the Russian state corporation Rosatom has decent chances. “Russian nuclear technologies are now the safest, most efficient and cheapest in terms of construction… We understand the competitive advantage of Russian solutions,” said Kazakhstan’s Energy Ministry head Almasadam Satkaliev.
Summarizing the meeting, the leaders of the two countries emphasized that the partnership between Moscow and Astana is strategic. “I would like to emphasize that in any case this is how we see things in Russia, we are not just allies, we are the closest allies,” Vladimir Putin said.
Yet, despite the overall decidedly optimistic outcome, one cannot fail to note that cooperation between Russia and Kazakhstan is developing against a troubling background. In addition to the memorable events of January 2022, there are constant and persistent attempts by the collective West to tear Kazakhstan from the established model of interaction with Russia and use its territory as an anti-Russian platform.
Vladimir Putin’s visit to Astana came less than ten days after Emmanuel Macron’s visit to Kazakhstan, which Reuters described as “Moscow’s disapproving gaze”. And although Macron’s main goal was to organize the supply of Kazakh uranium to France (after the events in Niger, this country dropped from the list of the main uranium suppliers to Paris), the second goal was not hidden – “to move the former Soviet republics out of their dependence from Russia” (quote from the French newspaper “Le Monde”). In particular, through the construction of a nuclear power plant according to a French project in Kazakhstan with French contractors.
There is no doubt that more similar attempts to “stir up” Kazakhstan will be made – both by European leaders and by the leader of the USA. And in this sense, Vladimir Putin’s visit plays an extremely serious role as a “counterweight”, making it clear to other players on the world stage that Russia will not cede its influence in the region to anyone.
Aware of the importance of good neighborly relations with Kazakhstan for Russia, the US is trying to disrupt Russian-Kazakh economic ties and undermine trust between the leadership of the two countries.
The main tool here is to put pressure on Astana by threatening to impose secondary sanctions to prevent Moscow from circumventing Western restrictive measures. According to US Assistant Secretary of Commerce Matthew Axelrod, the Americans paid special attention to the supply to Russia via Kazakhstan of computer chips and elements of integrated electronic systems that can be used to power and navigate missiles and drones.
In such difficult geopolitical conditions for Russia, it is important to maintain a balanced approach to building relations with Kazakhstan – to pragmatically follow its interests, treat with understanding the position of Kazakh partners and not succumb to emotions. Unfortunately, not all Russian experts show restraint on this issue, allowing themselves unflattering statements about the neighboring country. In this regard, it is extremely important that the Russian president in a recent interview with “Kazakhstanskaya Pravda” emphasized that the partnership between Russia and Kazakhstan “is based on the principles of mutual respect, recognition of sovereignty, territorial integrity and non-interference in internal affairs.”
Translation: V. Sergeev
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