Russian President Vladimir Putin (r), Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev (M) and Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev (l) at the military parade in Moscow. © Gavriil Grigorov/dpa
Alexander Lukashenko apparently wants to invite Kazakhstan to the Russian-Belarusian Union. Head of state Tokayev sees this as a "joke".
Astana/Moscow – According to Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, Belarusian ruler Alexander Lukashenko has tried to invite at least Kazakhstan to join the Russian-Belarusian Union. This is reported by the online medium Ukrainska Pravda, citing a statement by Tokayev on the official website of the Kazakh presidential office.
According to the report, Tokayev made fun of the offer and stressed that he appreciated Lukashenko's "wit". The Belarusian leader, who is one of Vladimir Putin's main supporters, "proposed that Kazakhstan join the Russian-Belarusian Union." However, according to Tokayev, there is no reason for this, because there are other organizations for cooperation - "and first of all, the Eurasian Economic Union."
Nuclear weapons to Kazakhstan: Tokayev adheres to disarmament treaties
In addition, in his statement, Tokayev also rejected an alleged offer by Lukashenko to supply Kazakhstan with nuclear weapons: "As far as nuclear weapons are concerned, we do not need them, since we are committed to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Tests," the Ukrainian online medium quoted the Kazakh head of state as saying. Kazakhstan takes the commitments to the two important agreements from the 1960s seriously, Tokayev stressed.
The alliance between Russia and Belarus, which Lukashenko apparently wanted to expand with his offer, was concluded in 1997 under the two heads of state Boris Yeltsin and Lukashenko. Therefore, under the terms of the agreement, Russia and Belarus are officially considered a "union state", an economic and defense community in which each country discusses its political decisions with the other.
Economic Community in Eastern Europe: What is the future of the Eurasian Economic Union?
The three founding members Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan founded the Eurasian Economic Union in 2014 with the aim of deepening economic cooperation, and Armenia and Kyrgyzstan are now also members of the Economic Union.
Before the founding of the confederation, there had also been talks about the possible accession of other states, including Ukraine. Already due to the Russian occupation of Crimea, this plan was considered to have failed in the long term and political relations were shattered.
In the Ukraine war, Kazakhstan, which is considered to be heavily influenced by Russia, is largely neutral. Kazakhstan abstained in a UN vote in which 141 states demanded the withdrawal of Russian troops from the neighboring country shortly after the start of the war. Current correspondent reports, such as those of ZDF, on the other hand, see the mood in the country changing more and more. (saka)
