US Secretary of State Brinken visited Kazakhstan and met with the foreign ministers of five Central Asian countries.
It seems that the aim is to cut a wedge in the relationship between Russia and the countries of Central Asia, which have deep political and economic ties, and to increase the effectiveness of sanctions against Russia.
U.S. Secretary of State Brinken visited Kazakhstan on the 28th and held meetings with the foreign ministers of five Central Asian countries, including Uzbekistan.
At a press conference after the meeting, Secretary Brinken said, "We will do everything we can to provide various opportunities for our friendly countries in Central Asia," and promote the diversification of trading partners in the region. It revealed that it will provide an additional $ 25 million, or about 3.4 billion yen in Japanese yen, to the fund for the purpose.
The five countries in Central Asia are members of the former Soviet Union, and while they are politically and economically linked to Russia, they are also showing distance from Russia, which continues its military invasion of Ukraine.
This will be Blinken's first visit to Central Asia since he took office, and it appears to be aimed at driving a wedge in relations between Russia and the countries of Central Asia and increasing the effectiveness of sanctions against Russia.
On the other hand, Blinken reiterated his concern that China was considering providing military assistance to Russia, and said, "It is not uncommon for Chinese companies and individuals to violate our sanctions or support Russia's military aggression. We will target them without hesitation," he said.