Kazakhstan’s president on Scholz: Russia is invincible
Published: Monday, Sep 16th 2024, 17:32
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During a visit by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Kazakh President Kassym-Shomart Tokayev described Russia as invincible and called for swift peace negotiations in the Ukraine war. "A further escalation of the war will lead to irreparable consequences for all of humanity and, first and foremost, for all countries 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: "See what works"
Scholz emphasized that Germany would continue to support Ukraine in order to defend itself against the Russian aggressors. At the same time, he reiterated that he would be in favor of a peace conference involving Russia. Now is the time to "see what works", said Scholz. However, Russia must make a contribution by stopping its aggression.
Scholz has been openly campaigning for a peace process since the end of August. In June, 93 states met for an initial 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 venue and date have not yet been set.
Tokayev in favor of ceasefire and then negotiations
Tokayev said there was still "a possibility of achieving peace". According to him, all peace plans must be examined and the fighting stopped. The territorial issues could then be resolved.
Russia has now occupied around a fifth of neighboring Ukraine in its war of aggression, which has been going on for more than two and a half years. However, Moscow is laying claim to further parts. In the fall of 2022, Putin annexed the regions of Kherson, Donetsk, Luhansk and Zaporizhia, although the Russian military still only partially controls the regions. Kiev is also demanding the 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 of more than 7600 kilometers with Russia and is closely intertwined with the superpower. At the same time, however, the country is seeking closer relations with Western states.
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 supplies to the PCK refinery in Schwedt, Brandenburg, following the attack on Ukraine.
On the fringes of the visit, an extension and increase in these deliveries beyond the end of 2024 was agreed. The exact quantity was not initially disclosed. According to government sources, Kazakhstan supplied around one million tons of crude oil to PCK last year. For the current year, 1.4 million tons have been agreed.
Tokayev: "New level" of relations
Tokayev said that 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 cooperation between the Kazakh National Bank and the Bundesbank and on the establishment of an institute for 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 enjoyed above-average economic growth for years.
The German government is not only interested in oil, but also in the gas reserves in Kazakhstan and, in the long term, in hydrogen produced from renewable energies. However, the country under Tokayev's authoritarian leadership also has uranium, iron ore, zinc, copper and gold.
Joint press meeting canceled 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 opinion are severely restricted. An originally planned joint press meeting between Tokayev and Scholz was canceled by the Kazakh side at short notice. In Uzbekistan, the Chancellor's first stop on his three-day trip, no joint press meeting was planned from the outset.
©Keystone/SDA
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