DISINFO: The UK wants Kazakhstan to distance itself from Russia
SUMMARY
Before the visit even began, UK Foreign Secretary Cameron essentially declared that he was coming to Central Asia bearing gifts — "soft power," as diplomats put it. Apart from meeting with the President of Kazakhstan, he also met with the Vice Premier, the head of MFA, and the Minister of Science and Higher Education.
These are not the people you talk to about investment, technology and infrastructure development, or job creation. Instead, you can talk to them about the most pressing issue — countering and distancing from Russia, and getting closer to Europe.
In other regions where the US and UK have fuelled conflicts, tensions started with issues around education and religious intolerance. In Britain itself, the purpose of the visit is not hidden — reducing Russia's role in Central Asia. For Kazakhstan, concerns were also raised about overly close cooperation with China — it's clear that the Anglo-Saxons perceive this partnership as a threat too.
RESPONSE
A recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about the belligerent West trying to encircle and oust Russia from Central Asia.
Speaking about the purpose of his visit to the Central Asian region, Cameron emphasised that:
“I want to make a broader point about this visit that I’m making to the Central Asian republics this week and that is that we are not saying to Kazakhstan or any other country that you have to make a choice, or we’re asking you not to choose your partnership and trade with Russia or China, or with anyone else. [...] We don’t ask you to choose us or another power. We say we’re here, so you have a choice. That’s the spirit in which we come,” said Cameron.
On April 24, 2024 Kazakh Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign affairs Murat Nurtleu and UK Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs David Cameron signed an agreement on Strategic Partnership and Cooperation between Kazakhstan and the UK.
It is aimed at strengthening bilateral relations in key sectors, such as foreign policy and security, trade and investment, protection of intellectual property, energy and raw materials partnership, transportation, environment protection and climate change, banking and financial services, employment and social policy, science and education.
During a meeting between the President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and David Cameron, special attention was paid to the issues of deepening cultural and humanitarian ties, especially in the fields of education and youth support.
See other examples of similar disinformation narratives in our database, such as claims that Borrell admitted that the West relies on Kazakhstan’s support in anti-Russia blockade; that West tries to force Kazakhstan to join anti-Russian sanctions policy; the EU uses the CIS to contain Russia by all means: financial, economic, and military; that US-sponsored Kazakhstan protests aimed to undermine CIS stability, that protests in Kazakhstan are a new Western attempt to organise a colour revolution, that events in Kazakhstan are another Western-made colour revolution or that EU and US aim to generate a new wave of anti-government protests in Belarus.