Another Neighbor Turns Back on Russia

Newsweek ^ | Sept. 29, 2023 | Isabel van Brugen

[canuck_conservative]

Relations between Kazakhstan and Russia, have deteriorated since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022...

"Kazakhstan has unambiguously stated that it will follow the sanctions regime," Tokayev said following talks during an official visit to Berlin to meet German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

Timothy Ash, an economist and associate fellow in the Russia and Eurasia program at British think tank Chatham House, said the statement was significant and shows Moscow is losing influence.

"Wow, huge move. Just shows weakening grip across region of Russia because of Putin's idiotic invasion of Ukraine. He lost Armenia in recent weeks on Russia's inability to help in [Nagorno-Karabakh]," he said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter...

Tension has also mounted between Armenia and Russia, which have long been close allies. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said this month that Putin failed to support his country amid clashes with neighboring Azerbaijan.

Kremlin propagandist Margarita Simonyan, the editor-in-chief of the Russian state-controlled media organization RT, acknowledged on state TV earlier this month that Russia has no allies in the war launched by Putin.

Simonyan said Russia is waging the "most difficult ... toughest and generally unprecedented war in our history."

"It is the most difficult and the toughest because it is the first war in our history in which we have no allies at all," Simonyan said.

She then said that actually Russia has "one ally in this war, Belarus."

"But it's hard to call it an ally, because it is us," said Simonyan...

[Syncro]

Yes

And many lives would have been saved!