Russia warned Central Asian countries

The Russian authorities are unhappy with the rapprochement between the USA and Central Asian countries.

Photo: Internet

Against the backdrop of U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s visit to Central Asia, Russia has warned its strategic partners to be cautious in their relations with the West.

Russian President’s Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov stated on Tuesday to journalists that Russia considers its relations with Central Asian countries a foreign policy priority. This was the Kremlin representative’s comment on U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s visit to Kazakhstan and whether this visit could affect Russia’s relations with Central Asian countries.

“We have our own bilateral relations with Central Asian countries, we have our own formats of interaction, and we are united with some of them by the integration processes of the Eurasian Economic Union, which we are focused on, in which we are interested, and which we consider our main foreign policy priority,” emphasized the Kremlin representative.

At the same time, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin urged Central Asian countries to be cautious in their dialogue with the West, especially with the USA.

According to him, the recent U.S. Afghan saga ended in chaos and ruins.

The Deputy Foreign Minister of Russia emphasized that ensuring security and stability in Central Asian countries is their duty, not that of the USA and the West.

On February 27, Antony Blinken arrived for his first official visit to the capital of Kazakhstan, where he met with the heads of foreign affairs agencies of Central Asian countries.

The “C5+1” format represents a multilateral mechanism for interaction between five Central Asian countries (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan) and the USA. It was established in 2015 to discuss regional issues in the fields of economy, ecology, and security.

During the meeting, Blinken will urge the foreign ministers of Central Asian countries to defend their independence from Russia and China and to consider the USA as a reliable partner.

Russia has repeatedly stated that the U.S. strategy includes the goal of reducing Russian influence in Central Asian countries.