Blinken in Central Asia to boost ties amid Russia-Ukraine war
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Loading... - Mateo Suarez
- 28 Feb 2023
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US secretary of state to meet with counterparts of five Central Asian countries on visits to Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has arrived in Kazakhstan, his first stop on a Central Asia trip to meet his counterparts from all five former Soviet republics in the region.
Blinken sat down for talks with Kazakh foreign minister Mukhtar Tileuberdi and then with Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev on Tuesday.
A meeting of the so-called C5+1 group, made up of the United States and the former Soviet republics of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, followed.
Blinken’s trip, his first to the area during the administration of President Joe Biden, came just days after the anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, an event that has been seen to have emboldened leaders in the region to take a firmer approach in dealings with Moscow.
US officials have said the Biden administration is seeking to step up engagement with the region, especially for countries facing economic fallout from the conflict.
Upon meeting Kazakhstan’s Tileuberdi, Biden pledged Washington’s support of the “sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity” of the country, which gained independence from Moscow in 1991. Blinken said the US was helping to support the sovereignty of all of the Central Asian countries by helping them to “develop the strongest possible capacities for their own security, their growing economic prosperity, and the strength and resilience of their societies”.
“In our discussions today, I reaffirmed the United States unwavering support for Kazakhstan, like all nations,” Blinken said. “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 added the US had increased an initiative to expand regional trade routes and export markets in the region to $50m during Tuesday’s meetings. Read More…
