As readers know, most people in this country are blissfully unaware of the geography and location of other countries until the American government gets involved in some sort of war involving them.
It is amazing you can write a few thousand words about Kazakhstan trying to distance itself from Russia and develop closer relations with China and Western Europe without once mentioning why this is happening. You claim it is because the leaders are stupid, but you don’t mention the elephant in the room, the war in Ukraine. I guess your Russian intel/disinfo bosses won’t allow you to state the obvious.
Because of the Ukraine war, Russia is under sanctions from much of the world. Russia has also decided to use natural gas as a weapon to put pressure on Europe and is cutting off gas exports to Europe. The result is Russia really doesn’t have markets for the oil and gas exports from Kazakhstan anymore. Russia is only going to pay very low prices for these exports if it is even willing to purchase any. Meanwhile European countries are searching the world for non-Russian gas supplies and willing to pay high prices for them. Kazakhstan is looking for alternative markets paying higher prices for its exports.
The other thing of course is the leaders of Kazakhstan have realized that the central Asian countries that were formerly part of the USSR are likely future targets for Russian invasion. The Kazakhstan military is very weak. In January Kazakhstan had to ask for Russian troops to help put down a protest. Although Kazakhstan has elections, they are not considered free and fair elections. It is basically an authoritarian state that had kept itself in power with Russian military assistance.
Kazakhstan leaders need Russia to stay in power, but the Western sanctions on Russia have destroyed Kazakhstan's export markets through Russia, so they are seeking new export markets for the products Russia really has no market for anymore.
I might add that it is not just Kazakhstan. Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan and other countries in the region have been trying to increase trade with Western Europe and China to replace the lost Russian export markets. Azerbaijan signed a deal to double gas exports to the EU in July using an existing network of pipes linking the Caspian region with Europe.
You are not good with history or current affairs. The government in Kazakhstan has been trying to distance itself from Russia for almost a decade now. Some of their "leadership" are dumb enough to think that they will be accepted as part of the "West". This is why they almost allowed a NGO-funded color revolution in that country a few months ago.
Most of their mineral export (other than oil and uranium) go to China- directly or indirectly. There is, of course, the direct oil pipeline to China. Uranium is directed and processed almost exclusively through Russia. A good part of Kazakh crude which uses Russian pipelines is refined in Russia and goes to China and other Asian countries. In other words, your contention that this is about escaping sanctions is bullshit- because their main buyers don't care.
Russia has no interest in invading the central Asian republics because they are mostly basket-cases. The one which is not, specifically Kazakhstan, is heavily dependent on Russia and has a rather large Russian minority. To put it bluntly, they don't need to invade it unless the leaders of that country are stupid enough to become NATO allies.
Growth in oil and gas + mineral consumption is now almost exclusively in Asia and parts of the world that are not the West. Next time you write a reply, it might be a good idea to check facts and figures from multiple sources before making up (or repeating) bullshit stories.
It is amazing you can write a few thousand words about Kazakhstan trying to distance itself from Russia and develop closer relations with China and Western Europe without once mentioning why this is happening. You claim it is because the leaders are stupid, but you don’t mention the elephant in the room, the war in Ukraine. I guess your Russian intel/disinfo bosses won’t allow you to state the obvious.
Because of the Ukraine war, Russia is under sanctions from much of the world. Russia has also decided to use natural gas as a weapon to put pressure on Europe and is cutting off gas exports to Europe. The result is Russia really doesn’t have markets for the oil and gas exports from Kazakhstan anymore. Russia is only going to pay very low prices for these exports if it is even willing to purchase any. Meanwhile European countries are searching the world for non-Russian gas supplies and willing to pay high prices for them. Kazakhstan is looking for alternative markets paying higher prices for its exports.
The other thing of course is the leaders of Kazakhstan have realized that the central Asian countries that were formerly part of the USSR are likely future targets for Russian invasion. The Kazakhstan military is very weak. In January Kazakhstan had to ask for Russian troops to help put down a protest. Although Kazakhstan has elections, they are not considered free and fair elections. It is basically an authoritarian state that had kept itself in power with Russian military assistance.
Kazakhstan leaders need Russia to stay in power, but the Western sanctions on Russia have destroyed Kazakhstan's export markets through Russia, so they are seeking new export markets for the products Russia really has no market for anymore.
I might add that it is not just Kazakhstan. Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan and other countries in the region have been trying to increase trade with Western Europe and China to replace the lost Russian export markets. Azerbaijan signed a deal to double gas exports to the EU in July using an existing network of pipes linking the Caspian region with Europe.
You are not good with history or current affairs. The government in Kazakhstan has been trying to distance itself from Russia for almost a decade now. Some of their "leadership" are dumb enough to think that they will be accepted as part of the "West". This is why they almost allowed a NGO-funded color revolution in that country a few months ago.
Most of their mineral export (other than oil and uranium) go to China- directly or indirectly. There is, of course, the direct oil pipeline to China. Uranium is directed and processed almost exclusively through Russia. A good part of Kazakh crude which uses Russian pipelines is refined in Russia and goes to China and other Asian countries. In other words, your contention that this is about escaping sanctions is bullshit- because their main buyers don't care.
Russia has no interest in invading the central Asian republics because they are mostly basket-cases. The one which is not, specifically Kazakhstan, is heavily dependent on Russia and has a rather large Russian minority. To put it bluntly, they don't need to invade it unless the leaders of that country are stupid enough to become NATO allies.
Growth in oil and gas + mineral consumption is now almost exclusively in Asia and parts of the world that are not the West. Next time you write a reply, it might be a good idea to check facts and figures from multiple sources before making up (or repeating) bullshit stories.