AP

Blinken warns Central Asia of dangers from war in Ukraine

Feb 27, 2023, 8:59 AM | Updated: Feb 28, 2023, 6:36 pm

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, left, meets with Kazakhstan's President Kassym-Jomart Tokay...

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, left, meets with Kazakhstan's President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, third right, at Ak Orda Presidential Palace in Astana, Kazakhstan Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2023. (Olivier Douliery/Pool Photo via AP)

(Olivier Douliery/Pool Photo via AP)


              U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, left, meets with Kazakhstan's President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, third right, at Ak Orda Presidential Palace in Astana, Kazakhstan Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2023. (Olivier Douliery/Pool Photo via AP)
            
              U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, left, shakes hands with Kazakhstan's Foreign Minister Mukhtar Tleuberdi during their meeting at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Astana, Kazakhstan Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2023. (Olivier Douliery/Pool Photo via AP)
            
              U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken looks on during a meeting with Kyrgyzstan Foreign Minister Kulubaev at the Ritz Carlton in Astana, Kazakhstan, Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2023. (Olivier Douliery/Pool Photo via AP)
            
              U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, second right, meets with Kyrgyzstan Foreign Minister Jeenbek Kulubaev, second left, at the Ritz Carlton in Astana, Kazakhstan, Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2023. (Olivier Douliery/Pool Photo via AP)
            
              US Secretary of State Antony Blinken participates in the US-Central Asia (C5+1) foreign ministerial meeting at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Astana , Kazakhstan, Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2023. (Olivier Douliery/Pool Photo via AP)
            
              Turkmenistan's Foreign Minister Rashid Meredow speaks during a meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, not pictured, at the Ritz Carlton in Astana, Kazakhstan, Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2023. (Olivier Douliery/Pool Photo via AP)
            
              From left: Kyrgyzstan Foreign Minister Zheenbek Kulubaev, Tajikistan's Foreign Minister Sirojiddin Muhriddin U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Kazakhstan's Foreign Minister Mukhtar Tileuberdi, Turkmenistan's Foreign Minister Rasit Meredow and Uzbekistan's acting Foreign Minister Bakhtiyor Saidov pose for a photo prior to their talks in Astana, Kazakhstan, Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2023. (AP Photo)
            
              U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, left, listens to Kazakhstan's Foreign Minister Mukhtar Tileuberdi, as they walk to meet the other Central Asia countries' Foreign Ministers before posing for a photo during their meeting in Astana, Kazakhstan, Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2023. (AP Photo)
            
              U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, right, smiles as he greets Uzbekistan's acting Foreign Minister Bakhtiyor Saidov upon his arrival in an international airport outside Tashkent, Uzbekistan, Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2023. (AP Photo)
            
              U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, right, walks next to Uzbekistan's acting Foreign Minister Bakhtiyor Saidov upon his arrival in an international airport outside Tashkent, Uzbekistan, Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2023. (AP Photo)
            
              U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, right, smiles as he greets Uzbekistan's acting Foreign Minister Bakhtiyor Saidov upon his arrival in an international airport outside Tashkent, Uzbekistan, Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2023. (AP Photo)
            
              Kazakhstan's honor guards wait for Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev to welcome U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken at Ak Orda Presidential Palace in Astana Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2023. (Olivier Douliery/Pool Photo via AP)
            
              U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, left, Kazakhstan's Foreign Minister Mukhtar Tileuberdi, center, and Tajikistan's Foreign Minister Sirojiddin Muhriddin, right, enter a hall for their talks in Astana, Kazakhstan, Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2023. (AP Photo)
            
              United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken, left, and Kazakhstan's Foreign Minister Mukhtar Tileuberdi go to shake hands at the end of their join press conference following a US-Central Asia (C5+1) Foreign Ministers meeting at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in Astana, Kazakhstan, Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2023. (Olivier Douliery/Pool Photo via AP)
            
              From left: Kyrgyzstan Foreign Minister Zheenbek Kulubaev, Tajikistan's Foreign Minister Sirojiddin Muhriddin, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Kazakhstan's Foreign Minister Mukhtar Tileuberdi, Turkmenistan's Foreign Minister Rasit Meredow and Uzbekistan's acting Foreign Minister Bakhtiyor Saidov pose for a photo prior to their talks in Astana, Kazakhstan, Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2023. (AP Photo)
            
              U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, right, smiles as he greets Uzbekistan's acting Foreign Minister Bakhtiyor Saidov upon his arrival in an international airport outside Tashkent, Uzbekistan, Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2023. (AP Photo)
            
              Kazakhstan's honor guards wait for Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev to welcome U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken at Ak Orda Presidential Palace in Astana Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2023. (Olivier Douliery/Pool Photo via AP)
            
              U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, left, Kazakhstan's Foreign Minister Mukhtar Tileuberdi, center, and Tajikistan's Foreign Minister Sirojiddin Muhriddin, right, enter a hall for their talks in Astana, Kazakhstan, Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2023. (AP Photo)
            
              United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken, left, and Kazakhstan's Foreign Minister Mukhtar Tileuberdi go to shake hands at the end of their join press conference following a US-Central Asia (C5+1) Foreign Ministers meeting at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in Astana, Kazakhstan, Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2023. (Olivier Douliery/Pool Photo via AP)
            
              From left: Kyrgyzstan Foreign Minister Zheenbek Kulubaev, Tajikistan's Foreign Minister Sirojiddin Muhriddin, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Kazakhstan's Foreign Minister Mukhtar Tileuberdi, Turkmenistan's Foreign Minister Rasit Meredow and Uzbekistan's acting Foreign Minister Bakhtiyor Saidov pose for a photo prior to their talks in Astana, Kazakhstan, Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2023. (AP Photo)
            
              U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, right, smiles as he greets Uzbekistan's acting Foreign Minister Bakhtiyor Saidov upon his arrival in an international airport outside Tashkent, Uzbekistan, Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2023. (AP Photo)
            
              Kazakhstan's honor guards wait for Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev to welcome U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken at Ak Orda Presidential Palace in Astana Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2023. (Olivier Douliery/Pool Photo via AP)
            
              U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, left, Kazakhstan's Foreign Minister Mukhtar Tileuberdi, center, and Tajikistan's Foreign Minister Sirojiddin Muhriddin, right, enter a hall for their talks in Astana, Kazakhstan, Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2023. (AP Photo)
            
              United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken, left, and Kazakhstan's Foreign Minister Mukhtar Tileuberdi go to shake hands at the end of their join press conference following a US-Central Asia (C5+1) Foreign Ministers meeting at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in Astana, Kazakhstan, Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2023. (Olivier Douliery/Pool Photo via AP)
            
              From left: Kyrgyzstan Foreign Minister Zheenbek Kulubaev, Tajikistan's Foreign Minister Sirojiddin Muhriddin, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Kazakhstan's Foreign Minister Mukhtar Tileuberdi, Turkmenistan's Foreign Minister Rasit Meredow and Uzbekistan's acting Foreign Minister Bakhtiyor Saidov pose for a photo prior to their talks in Astana, Kazakhstan, Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2023. (AP Photo)
            
              U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, foreground left, and Kazakhstan's Foreign Minister Mukhtar Tileuberdi walk together during their meeting in Astana, Kazakhstan, Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2023. (AP Photo)
            
              Kazakhstan's President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev speaks during a meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken at Ak Orda Presidential Palace in Astana Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2023. (Olivier Douliery/Pool Photo via AP)
            
              U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, left, leaves a car upon his arrival to meet Kazakhstan's Foreign Minister Mukhtar Tileuberdi in Astana, Kazakhstan, Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2023. (AP Photo)
            
              U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, left, meets with Kazakhstan's President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev at Ak Orda Presidential Palace in Astana, Kazakhstan Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2023. (Olivier Douliery/Pool Photo via AP)
            
              U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, left, meets with Kazakhstan's President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev at Ak Orda Presidential Palace in Astana, Kazakhstan Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2023. (Olivier Douliery/Pool Photo via AP)
            
              Kazakhstan's President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev speaks during a meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken at Ak Orda Presidential Palace in Astana Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2023. (Olivier Douliery/Pool Photo via AP)
            
              Kazakhstan's President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev speaks during a meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken at Ak Orda Presidential Palace in Astana Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2023. (Olivier Douliery/Pool Photo via AP)
            
              Kazakhstan's President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, center, speaks during a meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken at Ak Orda Presidential Palace in Astana Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2023. (Olivier Douliery/Pool Photo via AP)
            
              Kazakhstan's President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev waits for U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken at Ak Orda Presidential Palace in Astana Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2023. (Olivier Douliery/Pool Photo via AP)
            
              U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, left, meets with Kazakhstan's President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev at Ak Orda Presidential Palace in Astana, Kazakhstan Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2023. (Olivier Douliery/Pool Photo via AP)

The Biden administration on Tuesday pledged to support the independence of the five Central Asian nations, in a not-so-subtle warning to the former Soviet states that Russia’s value as a partner has been badly compromised by its year-old war against Ukraine.

In Kazakhstan for meetings with top Central Asian diplomats, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said no country, particularly those that have traditionally been in Moscow’s orbit, can afford to ignore the threats posed by Russian aggression to not only their territory but to the international rules-based order and the global economy. In all of his discussions, Blinken stressed the importance of respect for “sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence.”

The Central Asian states have hewed to a studied position of neutrality on Ukraine, neither supporting Russia’s invasion nor U.S. and Western condemnations of the war.

“Ever since being the first nation to recognize Kazakhstan in December of 1991, the United States has been firmly committed to the sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence of Kazakhstan and countries across the region,” Blinken said after meeting in Astana with the foreign ministers of the so-called C5+1 group, made up of the U.S. and Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.

“In our discussions today, I reaffirmed the United States’ unwavering support for Kazakhstan, like all nations, to freely determine its future, especially as we mark one year since Russia lost its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in a failed attempt to deny its people that very freedom,” Blinken told reporters at a news conference with Kazakh Foreign Minister Mukhtar Tileuberdi.

Tileuberdi thanked Blinken for the U.S. commitment to Kazakhstan’s freedom, but signaled that his country was unlikely to adopt either a pro-Russian or pro-Western position. Tileuberdi said Kazakhstan would continue to act in its own national interest given “the complex international situation.”

“Our country continues a balanced multilateral foreign policy,” he said.

Tileuberdi noted that while Kazakhstan has very close and historic ties with both Russia and Ukraine, it would not allow its territory to be used for any Russian aggression or sanctions evasion. He added that even though Kazakhstan shares the world’s longest land border with Russia, it did not see a threat from Moscow.

Blinken also held separate meetings in Astana with the foreign ministers of Kyrgyzstan, Tajiistan and Turkmenistan. After visiting Kazakhstan, Blinken arrived in Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan, on his first trip to Central Asia as secretary of state.

None of the five former Soviet republics in Central Asia, traditionally viewed as part of the Kremlin’s sphere of influence, publicly backed the Russian invasion. Kazakhstan welcomed tens of thousands of Russians fleeing from the military call-up last fall. Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has spoken by phone with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy three times since Russian troops rolled into Ukraine last February, calling for a diplomatic resolution of the conflict in accordance with the U.N. charter and international law.

However, all five Central Asian republics, along with India, which Blinken will visit next after Uzbekistan, abstained in a vote to condemn the invasion as a violation of core international principles last week at the U.N. General Assembly, on the first anniversary of the war.

“If we allow (those principles) to be violated with impunity, that does open the prospect that Russia itself will continue to consider further aggression against other countries, if it sets its sights on them, or other countries will learn the wrong lesson and would-be aggressors in every part of the world will say ‘well, if Russia can get away with this, then we can too,'” Blinken said. “That’s a recipe for a world of conflict, a world of instability, a world that I don’t think any of us want to live in.”

“So, that’s why it’s been so important for so many countries to stand up and say, no we don’t accept this,” he said.

The U.S. has for decades sought — without great success — to wean the former Soviet nations of the region from Moscow’s influence. Some, notably Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, assisted the U.S. logistically during its 20-year conflict in Afghanistan, but their ties to Russia remain deep and extend to the economic, military and diplomatic spheres as members of the Commonwealth of Independent States, a Moscow-dominated grouping of ex-Soviet nations.

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