Kazakh president wants to ensure safety of Russians fleeing mobilization

Russians at a utility center in Almaty, Kazakhstan, Tuesday, September 27, 2022. AP - Vladimir Tretyakov

Text by: RFI Follow

1 min

Russians have been fleeing their country en masse since the mobilization decree was signed.

One hundred thousand of them would have taken refuge in particular in Kazakhstan, and this, in a rather tense context between Moscow and Astana.

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With our correspondent in Tbilisi

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With 6,800 km of common borders with Russia, Kazakhstan could only be a preferred destination for Russians fleeing mobilization in their country.

Since Wednesday September 21, many of the 50 cross-border crossing points have been stormed.

98,000 Russians would have entered Kazakhstan in six days, the huge Central Asian Republic not requiring them to have a visa.

► To read also: Mobilization of reservists in Russia: Putin "raises the stakes"

Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said there was no crisis or panic over the influx, while acknowledging the situation was difficult.

The head of state has promised to take care of and ensure the safety of these refugees, his interior minister specifying however that Kazakhstan will hand over those who escape mobilization if they are claimed by the Russian authorities.

These delicate questions should be discussed at the level of Heads of State within a few days.

And this in a context where relations between Moscow and Astana have been strained due to the war in Ukraine.

President Tokayev recalled in June, for example, that his country would never recognize the Ukrainian entities which seceded under the threat of Russian tanks.

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• Kazakhstan

• Kassym-Jomart Tokayev

• Russia

• Defense