Kazakhstan: Deputy Calls for Accountability Over Ukrainian Drone Attack on CPC Oil Station

Majilis deputy Marat Bashimov stated that the attack of Ukrainian drones on the Caspian Pipeline Consortium station is a blatant and direct attack against the interests of our country, Orda.kz reports.

He is sure those responsible should be held accountable for the raid on the international facility.

The deputy shared this opinion on his Facebook page.

It seems that when planning this openly unfriendly action, the Ukrainian side was well aware of the strategic importance of the CPC for transporting Kazakhstan's oil. It must be understood that the strike on the CPC is an attack on a major international facility belonging to an entire consortium, including the largest American and European companies. They also suffer direct damage from the actions of the Ukrainian military. And here we see the duality of the position of the Ukrainians, who, on the one hand, demand military and other assistance from the United States and Europe, and on the other, strike a blow to their economic interests,  he wrote.

Marat Bashimov does not understand the reason for such aggression towards Kazakhstan. 

Kazakhstan has maintained a neutral position and advocated a peaceful resolution from the beginning of the Russian-Ukrainian war.

Diplomatic contacts between the two countries did not stop for a minute. Moreover, the whole world saw footage of Qasym-Jomart Toqayev openly and directly at the St. Petersburg forum not recognizing the DPR and LPR. We have repeatedly proposed to act as a political platform for peace talks with an invitation to UN representatives. In this regard, the political damage to Kazakh-Ukrainian relations from the strike on the CPC is obvious, the deputy believes.

In his opinion, Kazakhstan should demand direct explanations from Ukraine for actions against the interests of our country. It is also necessary to take strict and principled measures to hold those responsible for the attack on the international facility accountable.

On February 17, the Kropotkinskaya oil pumping station in Russia's Krasnodar region, through which Kazakhstan's oil from Tengiz flows, was attacked by drones. This is the largest CPC oil pumping facility in Russia.

Seven combat drones carried out the strike, the station was seriously damaged and suspended operations.

This could reduce Kazakhstan's oil exports by almost a third.

Original Author: Oksana Matvienko