Blinken affirms support for Central Asia
The Biden administration on Tuesday pledged to support the independence of the five Central Asian nations, in a not-sosubtle warning to the former Soviet states that Russia's value as a partner has been badly compromised by its year-old war against Ukraine.
In Kazakhstan for a series of meetings with top Central Asian diplomats, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said no country, particularly those that have traditionally been in Moscow's orbit, can afford to ignore the threats posed by Russian aggression to not only their territory but to the international rulesbased order. In all of his discussions, Blinken stressed the importance of respect for “sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence.”
The Central Asian states have hewed to a studied position of neutrality on Ukraine, neither supporting Russia's invasion nor U.S. and 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 the U.S. and Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan 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 fullscale invasion of Ukraine in a failed attempt to deny its people that very freedom,” Blinken told reporters at a news conference with Kazakh Foreign Minister Mukhtar Tileuberdi.
Tileuberdi thanked Blinken for the U.S. commitment to Kazakhstan's freedom, but signaled that his country was unlikely to adopt either a pro-Russian or pro-Western position. Tileuberdi said 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.
Tileuberdi noted that while Kazakhstan has very close and historic ties with both Russia and Ukraine, it would not allow its territory to be used for any Russian aggression or sanctions evasion. He added that even though Kazakhstan shares the world's longest land border with Russia, it did not see a threat from Moscow.
Blinken also held separate meetings in Astana with the foreign ministers of Kyrgyzstan, Tajiistan and Turkmenistan. After visiting Kazakhstan, Blinken arrived in Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan, on his first trip to Central Asia as secretary of state.