China Wants Russia to Help Drive External Powers Out of Central Asia

BEIJING – Moscow and Beijing must work together to counter external interference in Central Asia. This was stated by the Minister of Foreign Affairs China , Wang Yi, Tuesday (11/1/2022), following allegations that foreign nationals were involved in the recent riots in Kazakhstan .

Wang’s comments came after a phone call with his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, in which the two foreign ministers discussed the situation in Central Asia’s largest country. Last week, the Russia-led Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) sent a multinational peacekeeping force to Kazakhstan.

Read: Kazakhstan Situation Stable, CSTO Troops Withdrawal Immediately

The troop deployment came after peaceful protests that initially over fuel prices turned violent. Both China and Russia share a land border with Kazakhstan, and its stability is seen as essential to peace in the region.

“The parties must continue to strengthen coordination and interaction, reject the interference of external powers in the internal affairs of Central Asian countries, and prevent the ‘color revolution’ and the ‘three evil forces’ (terrorism, extremism, separatism) from creating chaos,” Wang explained. , as quoted from Russia Today.

The top diplomat also said that Russia and China should work together to help Central Asian countries overcome the Covid-19 pandemic, as well as assist in their economic development.

Read: Kazakhstan President Appoints Several Key Ministers in New Government

Following the call, a statement from Russia’s Foreign Ministry said the two foreign ministers “agree” in their assessment of events in Kazakhstan.

“They stressed concerns about the interference of external powers, including the participation of foreign mercenaries in attacks on civilians and law enforcement officials, the seizure of state institutions and other facilities,” the statement said.

Demonstrations began early last week in Kazakhstan when large groups of mostly peaceful protesters took to the streets to protest the removal of price controls on liquefied petroleum gas, the fuel widely used to power their cars.

After a few days, the demonstrations became more violent, allegedly being taken over by criminals who took to the streets with guns and attacked law enforcement officers. On Monday, Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev dubbed the demonstration an “coup attempt” and declared that order had been restored.

(esn)

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