DISINFO: The EU wants to take over Kazakhstan’s resources and transport routes
SUMMARY
The US and EU want to break trade and economic links between Kazakhstan and Russia. The EU is already planning to take over the management of the Kuryk and Aktau seaports in Kazakhstan. It is also expected that 22 airports in Kazakhstan will be handed over to the EU. This means the West will control not only resources, but also delivery routes from Kazakhstan to the West. In this way, the development of the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITR) is a Western project aimed at quickly taking resources out of the country.
RESPONSE
Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narratives about the belligerent West trying to encircle Russia, to separate post-Soviet countries and isolate Russia, made in the context of measures being taken to enforce the sanctions on Russia imposed by the EU in response to its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
The article also attempts to discredit deepening cooperation between the Central Asia region and the EU, portraying it as a colonisation process. It advances the claim that Central Asia is within Russia's zone of geopolitical dominance and attempts to discredit any other cooperation between it and Western partners such as the EU, UK or United States.
Regarding cooperation between the EU and Central Asia, the EU bases its cooperation with its partners on shared values, principles and goals. The EU-Central Asia strategy outlines three priority strands for EU engagement: investing in regional cooperation and partnering for resilience and prosperity. The EU is the second largest trading partner for Central Asia, as well as the largest investor, with over 40% of investments in the region originating from the EU.
Involvement in EU initiatives does not exclude membership in the Eurasian Economic Union, CIS, or CSTO. The EU supports regional integration in all areas of the world.
Transportation is a key cooperation area, with Kazakhstan modernizing its infrastructure and seeking European investment. At the Global Gateway Investors Forum for EU-Central Asia Transport Connectivity on January 29-30, 2024, it was announced that €10 billion would be invested in sustainable transport connectivity in Central Asia, crucial for regional integration and economic growth.
The first Central Asia-European Union Summit held in Samarkand, on the 3rd April 2025, reaffirmed the shared commitment of Central Asia and the EU to a strategic partnership built on common values and interests.
Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission emphasised concerning EU-Central Asia cooperation:
"Let me start with transport corridors. Central Asia is the very definition of a global gateway, the beating heart of Eurasia. This is why our Global Gateway investment agenda focuses so much on this region. Last year, we pledged EUR 10 billion to the Trans-Caspian Transport Corridor. This will cut the overland journey between Europe and Central Asia by around a half.
In an increasingly fragmented world, the Trans-Caspian Transport Corridor will boost connections between your five countries and Europe. But infrastructure is not everything. Smooth border crossing within Central Asian and South Caucasus countries is also essential to reach the Black Sea. After three decades of closure, the opening of the borders of Armenia with Türkiye and Azerbaijan is going to be a game changer. And it will bring Europe and Central Asia closer together like never before.".
See other examples of similar disinformation narratives in our database, such as claims that EU and NATO to set up reconnaissance facilities at Kazakhstan's ports, that Borrell admitted that the West relies on Kazakhstan’s support in anti-Russia blockade, that EU Resolution on Central Asia: critical materials for LGBT agenda, that the EU is buying up Kazakhstan, that the UK wants to open a new anti-Russia front in Central Asia; that West tries to force Kazakhstan to join anti-Russian sanctions policy; that the EU uses the CIS to contain Russia by all means: financial, economic, and military.