Kazakhstan, a new affront to Putin? Ready to host foreign companies that have left Russia

The Kazakhstan proposes to the hundreds of foreign companies that have left the Russia – following the invasion ofUkraine – to transfer their interests to the Central Asian country. President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev he asked his government to develop “favorable conditions for relocation” for the roughly 1,000 companies that have suspended, or at least curtailed, operations in Moscow.

Kazakhstan ready to host foreign companies leaving Russia

“We are seeing global competition for investment capital. One in two companies that have reduced their presence in Russia has left the Russian market entirely, ”Tokayev told a government meeting. A month ago, at the St. Petersburg Economic Forum, Tokayev did not hesitate to say, in the face of Putinthat his country would not recognize the independence of the republics of Donetsk and Luhansk.

The tension between Russia and Kazakhstan

After these statements, with at least suspicious timing, Putin first closed the port of Novorossijskthrough which Kazakh oil is exported to the Black Sea. Caspian Pipeline Consortium, which passes through Russian soil. Decision challenged by the Kazakh oil consortium, which resumed exports shortly after.

Kazakhstan, on 9 July, decided to withdraw from the agreement of the Commonwealth of Independent States (Csi) on interstate monetary circulation, which promotes economic cooperation between the former Soviet republics that are part of the organization. But the move of the definitive rupture between the two countries could be the next: Tokayev is thinking of building a new pipeline capable of transporting oil to Europe without passing through Russia. A move that, if confirmed, would mark a point of no return in relations between the two countries.