The Ministry of Foreign Affairs looks forward to further effective work with Kazakhstan

Moscow expects that the words of Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev about his intention to comply with sanctions against the Russian Federation will not affect its relations with Astana. The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs about this reported in TASS comments.

“We expect that we will continue to work effectively together with our Kazakh partners in order to prevent negative external impacts on our good neighborly ties, including trade and economic cooperation,” the Foreign Ministry said.

The representative of the foreign ministry also added that this cooperation brings great benefits to both countries, fully meeting the interests of their peoples. He also emphasized that Russia does not interfere in Kazakhstan’s relations with other countries.

On September 28, Tokayev said during an official visit to Germany that Kazakhstan would follow the sanctions regime against Russia. On September 29, he explained that Astana is committed to cooperation with Moscow and is not “anti-Russia.” The republic, he emphasized, has long been cooperating with Russia in various fields, including trade and humanitarian ties.

At the same time, sanctions, he added, are counterproductive “from the point of view of improving international relations.” At the same time, Kazakhstan does not trade sanctioned goods and does not participate in parallel imports to Russia.

In August, at a meeting of the Dialogue of Heads of State in the BRICS Plus format, Tokayev called for the supply of food and fertilizers to be removed from the influence of any sanctions and restrictions. This, he said, is necessary to reduce food imbalances in countries.

After the start of Russia’s special operation in Ukraine in February 2022, Western countries introduced large-scale sanctions against the Russian Federation. According to Putin, the purpose of the restrictions is to “make the people of Russia suffer” and thereby destabilize society from within.