|
|
 |
U.S. Not Luring away Kazakhstan
The United States is not trying to lead Kazakhstan away from Russian influence, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice stated during her visit to Astana yesterday. There is no competition between the U.S. and Russia for influence in Central Asia, she added, and Washington does not want to lure Moscow’s allies away from it. She also refused to declare Kazakhstan within Russia’s “special sphere of influence.”
Kazakh Foreign Minister Marat Tazhin noted at their joint press conference that Russia is a strategic partner of the country and relations with the U.S. are stable and strategic as well.
After the beginning of the military conflict in Georgia in August, a number of high-placed U.S. politicians, including Vice President Dick Cheney, have made several trips to CIS capitals. Experts say the U.S. is trying to convince Russia’s traditional partners of its view on the Georgian war.
www.kommersant.com
|
|
|
