Putin aims veiled threat at another ex-Soviet state

Former Soviet countries are part of Russia’s domain and risk Ukraine’s fate if they go up against the Kremlin, Vladimir Putin has insinuated.

The Russian president made the remarks while on stage with Kazakhstan’s leader, with experts interpreting them as a ‘‘clear threat’’ against the neighbouring country.

His comments were in response to Kassym-Jomart Tokayev saying on live TV at an economic forum in St Petersburg at the weekend he did not recognise two pro-Russian rebel regions in the Donbas.

Putin hit back: ‘‘What is the Soviet Union? This is historical Russia.’’

He went on to praise Kazakhstan as a brotherly nation before adding: ‘‘The same thing could have happened with Ukraine, absolutely, but they wouldn’t be our allies.’’

One observer based in Nur-Sultan, the Kazakh capital, said that Tokayev had ‘‘humiliated Putin in front of his supporters’’ and that the threat was real, adding: ‘‘He’s making him aware that Kazakhstan may be Russia’s next prey.’’

Another commentator, based in Almaty, said: ‘‘He’s saying that if you are good neighbours, that’s fine. But if you step out of line and go proWest, we can conquer your land because it is ours.’’

Maximilian Hess, a fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute, said Tokayev was especially vulnerable because he had relied on Putin’s support in January to defeat rivals in a fight for power in Kazakhstan. ‘‘This is a clear threat,’’ he said. ‘‘Tokayev has no power base domestically and knows since January he is dependent on Putin.’’

Other Kazakh analysts said Tokayev would only have stood up to Putin over Ukraine if it was worth the risk and that a Russian invasion of Kazakhstan was unlikely. ‘‘Kazakhstan is already firmly rooted in the Russian domain of influence. Putin doesn’t need to reimpose the borders of the USSR to control it,’’ said Dimash Alzhanov, a Kazakh political analyst.

Kazakhstan is a mineral-rich

‘‘This is historical Russia.’’

Vladimir Putin Russian president

country. Its army is poor and no match for Russia’s.

Kremlin hawks have been circling and threatening the country. Last month, Sergei Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister, accused Kazakhstan of hosting US biological laboratories which may be used for building weapons, an accusation he lobs at Ukraine and Georgia, Russia’s foes.