Putin’s War Is Deepening a Tussle for Influence in Central Asia
Former Soviet republics are looking to rebalance their political and economic ties to Moscow.
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When Chinese President Xi Jinping traveled across the border to Kazakhstan this week, he wrote in a local newspaper that mutual relations were “rock solid.” Kazakh ties with its traditional Russian ally are not on such a firm footing.
Kazakhstan, which has a sizable Russian-speaking population, notably declined to endorse President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. Alongside its political dissent, Kazakhstan has built alternative economic ties, with the European Union overtaking Russia as Almaty’s largest trading partner.