Tokayev: Kazakhstan is not “anti-Russia”

Kazakhstan adheres to the course of cooperation with Russia and is not “anti-Russia,” said the President of the Republic Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.

“Kazakhstan is not “anti-Russia”; we firmly adhere to the course of full cooperation with Russia, with which we are united by the longest border in the world,” – commented he Kazinform statements that Astana is flirting with the West. The day before, during a meeting with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Tokayev noted that Kazakhstan would follow the sanctions regime against Russia.

In a commentary to Kazinform, he emphasized that Moscow and Astana have a long tradition of cooperation. “As for sanctions, at the recent session of the UN General Assembly and in other speeches, I noted that the sanctions confrontation is absolutely counterproductive from the point of view of improving international relations, which have been eroded as a result of the aggravation of the global situation,” he said.

Kazakhstan does not participate in parallel imports to Russia and does not have sanctioned goods, Tokayev clarified. At the same time, he noted that trade in “traditional goods” between countries is growing and in 2022 the volume reached $25 billion. However, Kazakhstan is forced to take into account sanctions restrictions, the president of the republic explained.

In August, at a meeting of the Dialogue of Heads of State in the BRICS Plus format, Tokayev called for remove from the influence of any sanctions and restrictions on the supply of food and fertilizers. 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.