Dhen Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier is traveling to Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan this week, according to his office he wants it to be understood as a “signal of partnership to the states of Central Asia”, which are “in the difficult neighborhood of Russia and China”.
How sensitive the situation is for Kazakhstan, Steinmeier’s first travel destination from Monday to Wednesday, became apparent when the Federal President and his host, Kazakh President Kassym-Schomart Tokayev, appeared before the press in Astana on Tuesday. That’s what the capital has been called since last September, after a three-and-a-half-year interlude as “Nur-Sultan” in honor of former President Nursultan Nazarbayev. Steinmeier said the EU and Kazakhstan are in close contact to avoid circumventing sanctions imposed on Russia in the Ukraine war. For this it is necessary to do everything, said Steinmeier.
Russia is Kazakhstan’s largest economic partner, and the two countries are linked in the Eurasian Economic Union. Kazakhstan does not want to impose its own sanctions on Russia. But Tokayev has announced that he “does not want to violate” Western sanctions. However, observers have noted that EU exports of products such as smartphones and laptops to Kazakhstan have surged over the past year.
Kazakhstan’s “Multi-Vector Policy”
Russia openly relies on “parallel imports”, a kind of legalized smuggling, in order to obtain such and other products that are subject to sanctions or sales restrictions by the manufacturers. Astana now wants to use an online system to control the flow of goods to prevent re-export from Kazakhstan to Russia.
Tokayev remained true to his strategic vagueness, also known as “multi-vector policy”, on Tuesday, avoided the topic of circumventing sanctions at Steinmeier’s side, and merely announced his willingness to mediate between Moscow and Kiev. The official record of the performance does not mention the subject at all. Steinmeier said Germany, like Kazakhstan, upholds the principles of territorial integrity and the sovereignty of states.
While that’s true, Tokayev recently attended the May 9 military parade in Moscow staged by Russian President Vladimir Putin as a show of support for his “special operation” war in Ukraine. However, Tokayev did not wear the black and orange St. George’s ribbon, the symbol of the invaders. A concert by the Russian pop singer Grigori Leps in Kazakhstan has just been cancelled; The reason was outrage at a launch bonus for Western tanks recently offered by the Putin and war supporter.
Kazakh oil for refinery in Schwedt?
Steinmeier will be accompanied to Central Asia by a business delegation, and his visit to Kazakhstan was also shaped by other economic issues that are more uplifting for Astana and Berlin than circumventing sanctions. On Tuesday, for example, it was about additional Kazakh oil for the refinery in Schwedt, Brandenburg, which now has to do without Russian oil.
On Wednesday, Steinmeier traveled to Aktau in western Kazakhstan, where he laid the foundation stone for a new institute for sustainable engineering. Steinmeier referred to the so-called Middle Corridor project, an alternative route for transporting commercial goods between Asia and Europe, bypassing Russia. According to Steinmeier, the institute, which is supported by the German-Kazakh University and Yessenow University in Aktau, also has political significance as a model project for future cooperation between Germany and Kazakhstan.
Steinmeier’s onward flight to Kyrgyzstan, which is also linked to Russia in the Eurasian Economic Union, was scheduled for Wednesday evening. In the capital, Bishkek, he is received by President Sadyr Dschaparow. Then Steinmeier wants to visit a national park in the high mountains and learn about the impact of climate change there. The Federal President wants to fly back to Germany on Friday.
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