Kazakhstan has close ties to Russia, but also seeks proximity to the West. During the Chancellor’s visit, the country’s President urged negotiations for peace in Ukraine.
During the visit of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev described Russia as invincible and called for rapid peace negotiations in the war in Ukraine. “A further escalation of the war will lead to irreparable consequences for all of humanity and, first and foremost, for all countries that are directly involved in the Russian-Ukrainian conflict,” he said, according to Kazakh news agencies. “It is a fact that Russia is invincible in military terms.”
Scholz’s answer: “Let’s see what happens”
Scholz stressed that Germany would continue to support Ukraine in defending itself against the Russian attackers. At the same time, he reiterated that he would support a peace conference involving Russia. Now is the time to “see what is possible,” said Scholz. Russia must, however, make a contribution by stopping its aggression.
Scholz has been openly promoting a peace process since the end of August. In June, 93 countries met for a first peace conference in Switzerland, to which Russia was not invited and which was boycotted by Russia’s most important ally, China. The follow-up conference is now to take place with Russia. However, the location and date have not yet been announced.
Tokayev for ceasefire and then negotiations
Tokayev said there was still “an opportunity to achieve peace.” According to him, all peace plans must be examined and hostilities must cease. After that, the territorial disputes can be resolved.
In its war of aggression, which has been going on for more than two and a half years, Russia has now occupied about a fifth of neighboring Ukraine. But Moscow is laying claim to other parts. In autumn 2022, for example, Putin annexed the Kherson, Donetsk, Luhansk and Zaporizhia regions, although the Russian military only partially controls the regions to date. Kyiv is also demanding a withdrawal of Russian forces from the Crimean peninsula, which was annexed in 2014.
Chancellor wants to expand economic relations
The former Soviet republic of Kazakhstan has a land border with Russia that is more than 7,600 kilometers long and is closely intertwined with the superpower. At the same time, however, the country is seeking closer relations with Western states.
The Chancellor’s visit was primarily about closer economic relations. He wants to “do everything to improve the opportunities for economic relations,” said Scholz. He particularly emphasized the “resilient, precise and continuous cooperation” in the raw materials sector.
Oil supplies to be expanded
With a share of 11.7 percent, Kazakhstan is Germany’s third-largest oil supplier after Norway and the USA and has partially compensated for the loss of Russian deliveries to the PCK refinery in Schwedt, Brandenburg, following the attack on Ukraine.
On the sidelines of the visit, an extension and an increase in these deliveries beyond the end of 2024 was agreed. The exact quantity was not initially disclosed. According to government sources, Kazakhstan delivered around one million tons of crude oil to PCK last year. 1.4 million tons have been agreed for the current year.
Tokayev: “New level” of relations
Tokayev said the Chancellor’s visit would take relations between the two countries “to a new level.” “Our bilateral cooperation will be expanded in the spirit of a strategic partnership.”
During the visit, agreements were also signed on the cooperation of the Kazakh National Bank with the Bundesbank, as well as on the establishment of an Institute of Science and Technology at the German-Kazakh University in Almaty and a German-language school.
Country with above-average growth rates
Kazakhstan, with its 20 million inhabitants, is the ninth largest country in the world in terms of area and Germany’s most important economic partner in the region. Thanks in particular to trade with its important neighbors Russia and China, the country has experienced above-average economic growth for years.
The German government is not only interested in oil, but also in gas reserves in Kazakhstan and, in the long term, in hydrogen produced from renewable energies. The country, which is led in an authoritarian manner by Tokayev, also has uranium, iron ore, zinc, copper and gold.
Joint press meeting cancelled at short notice
Like the other authoritarian states in the region, Kazakhstan is also criticized for its human rights situation. Freedom of the press and freedom of expression are severely restricted. An originally planned joint press meeting between Tokayev and Scholz was canceled at short notice by the Kazakh side. In Uzbekistan, the Chancellor’s first stop on his three-day trip, no joint press meeting was planned from the outset.
Source: Stern
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
