The administration of US President Joe Biden yesterday pledged to support the independence of the five Central Asian nations.
In Kazakhstan for meetings with top Central Asian diplomats, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that no country, particularly those that have traditionally been in Russia’s orbit, can afford to ignore the threats posed by Russian aggression not only to their territory, but to the international rules-based order and the global economy.
In all of his discussions, Blinken stressed the importance of respect for “sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence.”
Photo: Reuters
The Central Asian states have hewed to a studied position of neutrality on Ukraine, neither supporting Russia’s invasion, nor Western condemnations of the war.
“Ever since being the first nation to recognize Kazakhstan in December of 1991, the United States has been firmly committed to the sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence of Kazakhstan and countries across the region,” Blinken said after meeting in Astana with the foreign ministers of the so-called C5+1 group, made up of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, the US and Uzbekistan.
“In our discussions today, I reaffirmed the United States’ unwavering support for Kazakhstan, like all nations, to freely determine its future, especially as we mark one year since Russia lost its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in a failed attempt to deny its people that very freedom,” Blinken told reporters at a news conference alongside Kazakh Minister of Foreign Affairs Mukhtar Tileuberdi.
Tileuberdi thanked Blinken for Washington’s commitment to Kazakhstan’s freedom, but signaled that his country was unlikely to adopt either a pro-Russian position or one that followed Western policies.
Tileuberdi said that Kazakhstan would continue to act in its own national interest given “the complex international situation.”
“Our country continues a balanced multilateral foreign policy,” he said.
Blinken also held separate meetings in Astana with the foreign ministers of Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan.
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