Putin sends message to allies
of the Soviet space programme and now base for its antiballistic missile and the uranium mining operations vital to its nuclear industry, is important to the Kremlin.
Speaking last night, Eurasian expert Edward Johnson, of the Sibylline risk assessment group, said: “The events in Kazakhstan played to Russia’s advantage. They gave Moscow leverage.
“Putin needed to show that Russia is a regional guarantor of stability; a well-meaning actor who supports its allies.
“It’s as much a message for Belarus and
Armenia as it is for the West.”