DISINFO: The West is attempting to turn Central Asia into an anti-Russian geopolitical arena
SUMMARY
Western countries, particularly European Union members, are attempting to politicise cooperation with Central Asia, aiming to intensify anti-Russian sentiment in the region and achieve geopolitical dominance.
RESPONSE
This recurring pro-Kremlin narrative is part of a broader campaign accusing the West of pursuing anti-Russian policies aimed at its encirclement and destruction. 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.
Such rhetoric aims to sow distrust towards the European Union within Central Asian countries and discourage them from diversifying their international relations. Far from being a tool for politicisation or anti-Russian manoeuvring, the April 2025 "Central Asia + EU" summit, as consistently emphasised by both sides, served as a platform to enhance cooperation in areas of mutual interest.
The summit resulted in the announcement of a €12 billion Global Gateway investment programme focused on transport, green energy, and digitalisation. The EU's strategy in Central Asia is founded on principles of supporting the region's stability, prosperity, and reform agendas, in line with the priorities set by the Central Asian states themselves. As repeatedly stated by European officials, the primary focus is on practical cooperation, encompassing trade, investment, connectivity, climate change, and digital transformation.
See other examples of similar disinformation narratives in our database, such as claims The EU considers Central Asia only as a tool to extract resources and harm Russia, that The EU aims to colonise Central Asia to replace the lost Sahel region, 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 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; that the EU uses the CIS to contain Russia by all means: financial, economic, and military.