Why Kazakhstan does not choose sides in international conflicts, Ashimbaev explained

During any large-scale international conflict, each country must, first of all, think about its national interests. That is why it is wrong to ask such a county to pick sides, according to Maulen Ashimbaev, speaker of the Senate, the upper house of Kazakhstan’s parliament.

«In Kazakhstan, we are implementing a policy that is based on our national interests. Our national interests include territorial integrity, independence, security of citizens, stability of the country and its public institutions. Therefore, I believe it is wrong to ask countries to pick sides. It is better to ask what a country’s national interests are now, tomorrow and in the years to come,» Ashimbayev said at one of the panel sessions of the Astana International Forum.

In this context, the speaker of the Senate said that the preservation and strengthening of independence, as well as economic development and growth, are key goals of Kazakhstan. In order to achieve these goals, the country needs to cooperate with all global powers.

«The U.S. is one of the largest investors in Kazakhstan’s economy. American companies have invested a lot of money into our energy sector. We are grateful for these investments and we want to work with them and develop new projects. At the same time, we are interested in cooperation with Chinese and European companies. And of course, Russia is one of our main partners as well,» Ashimbaev stated.

He also said that now countries need to leave Cold War stereotypes and approaches in the past.

«Today our international system is developing around the interests of large states. I don’t think this is the right approach in the 21st century. We need a new paradigm with a balance of interests of all countries and equal respect for all nations. This is a new priority. I think we need to work in this direction, and, of course, this point is on the international agenda of Kazakhstan,» the official highlighted.

President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev of Kazakhstan has repeatedly stated that the nation maintains the position of neutrality when it comes to modern conflicts. In September 2022, he confirmed Kazakhstan’s foreign policy would be neutral as the country wants peace with its neighbors and within the country itself. As Tokayev noted, it is very important to preserve the nation’s unity during the sanctions standoff between major powers.

Earlier this week President Tokayev attended the Astana International Forum where he stated that different countries have to seek dialog with each other in order to restore international peace. He also said that it is important to drop the ideology of wars and conflicts.