Russian Propagandists Speak about Toqayev's Visit to Germany

Russian political scientists and journalists have put forward new accusations against Kazakhstan. This time around they expressed dissatisfaction with Astana allegedly supporting sanctions against the Russian Federation.

President Qasym-Jomart Toqayev had indeed openly assured his European colleagues that Kazakhstan would adhere to said sanctions, simultaneously saying Kazakhstan is not “anti-Russian”. Orda.kz looked into the matter.

The Best of Both Worlds

After the Toqayev’s visit to Germany, Russian media seemingly asserted that Kazakhstan wants to have it “both ways”. Indeed, commentators were displeased with the president “openly declaring” support for anti-Russian sanctions.

As for the possible circumvention of sanctions, Kazakhstan will definitely follow the sanctions regime. We have contacts with relevant organizations to comply with the sanctions regime. I don't think there should be any concerns on the German side regarding possible actions aimed at circumventing the sanctions regime, Toqayev said at a joint press conference with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

Russian experts latched onto these very words, considering them to be a manifestation of an "unfriendliness".

President Qasym-Jomart Toqayev and the Chancellor Olaf Scholz, photo: Akorda

“Indecency”

Russian political scientist Sergei Mardan during “Soloviev Live", discussing the participation of the President in a press conference in Berlin, called Toqayev's behavior “indecent".

Is Kazakhstan really teaching Russia how to do business, how to implement foreign policy? It is not very decent to discuss our affairs with our enemies. Although, maybe Toqayev doesn't know that Germany is our enemy, that the Germans supply tanks that shoot at Russians? We need to inform him, Mardan said.

The political observer of the Tsargrad TV channel also assessed the Kazakh president's statements. Andrey Perla proposed to “reassess” relations with Kazakhstan after the "Russia's victory in Ukraine".

Toqayev is a product of 35 years of Western propaganda. He does not believe in Russia's victory over the West. I can't believe it. And he acts based on his understanding of the inevitability of our defeat. In any case, real relations with Kazakhstan will need to be rebuilt. After we win in Ukraine. To rebuild, based on the fundamental inequality. Based on the fact that Russia is a great power. And former provinces are no more than former provinces.

Viktor Shatskikh’s statements in relation to Kazakhstan turned out to be just as tactless. He dubbed the matter “the five Central Asian Cats twitching their tails."

Incidentally, Shatskikh is a graduate of the Almaty KazNU’s Journalism Faculty). He had lived in Almaty, working as the editor-in-chief of the Almaty Business Bulletin.

Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan are former republics of the USSR. Their leaders went to the USA, and now Toqayev has come to Germany. Chooses which of the "daddies" will be more generous. They say, come on, love us, or we'll go to Moscow again with Putin to hug,  he said in an interview with the Khakass.

Bogdan Bezpalko, a member of the Council on Interethnic Relations under the President of Russia, labeled Toqayev's words "a desire to please the West."

Kazakhstan obviously wants to diversify its policy and, in fact, is largely switching to an anti-Russian trajectory. But due to geography, it is locked in by Russia from the north and west, and it can export its oil only through the port of Novorossiysk. Obviously, such statements are made in order to demonstrate loyalty to the West. 

This is a clear continuation of a propaganda campaign aimed at having Russians formulate the opinion that Kazakhstan is an unreliable ally, whereas the president of the republic is closely establishing ties with the “Russia’s enemies".

Kazakhstani Political Scientists’ Response

Kazakhstani political scientist Marat Shibutov in his Telegram channel reflected on the propagandists' logic. 

For some reason, the Russian media decided to take out only a piece about compliance with the sanctions regime, for some reason it is important to them that Kazakhstan also falls under sanctions and also suffers together with Russia. I understand that some Russian journalists and politicians have developed some interesting masochism, but as a result, Kazakhstan will be similar to Belarus under sanctions and this will, first of all, affect the Russian budget,  the political scientist writes.

He recalled that after the onset of Russia’s war against Ukraine, Kazakhstan has remained a "window" for the Russian Federation to the world and a good neighbor that improves the aggressor country’s image via statements. Kazakhstan has also subsequently become a platform for dialogue between the Kremlin, Europe and the United States.

Kazakhstan's good relations with European countries can eventually help in establishing relations between Russia and the EU – the conflict will end sooner or later in some format and it will be necessary to negotiate,  the expert believes.

Political scientist Andrey Chebotarev notes that President Toqayev only outlined the country's position – multi-vector nature and unwillingness to be involved in any conflicts.

In the bigger picture, Qasym-Jomart Toqayev has outlined two important points. On the one hand, he noted the constructive nature of relations between Kazakhstan and Russia, including the factor confirming this delimitation of the state border with it. Thus, the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan gave a clear signal to both the leadership of the Russian Federation and the political establishment of Germany and its allied countries regarding a firm commitment to the principles of multi–vector and pragmatism in the foreign policy of his country,  Chebotarev writes in his telegram channel.

Not “Anti-Russian"

Qasym-Jomart Toqayev, responding to the aforementioned criticism, said that the sanctions confrontation is counterproductive. He stressed that Kazakhstan and the Russian Federation have a long tradition of multifaceted cooperation, including trade and humanitarian ties.

As for sanctions, at the recent session of the UN General Assembly and in other speeches, I noted that the sanctions confrontation is absolutely counterproductive from the point of view of improving international relations, which have been eroded as a result of the aggravation of the global situation. Kazakhstan does not have goods that fall under the sanctions restrictions, and therefore does not trade them. Kazakhstan also does not participate in the so-called parallel import to Russia. As for trade in traditional goods, it is growing, and last year the volume of Kazakh-Russian trade reached $25 billion, Toqayev said

 Original Author: Maksim Skopin

DISCLAIMER: This is a translated piece. The text has been modified, the content is the same. Please refer to the original piece in Russian for accuracy.