French President Emmanuel Macron arrived in Kazakhstan. He is scheduled to hold talks with President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, the press service of the Kazakh government reported.
It is officially reported that the leaders intend to discuss issues of “strengthening trade, economic, investment and energy cooperation, as well as issues on the international and regional agenda.”
However, Politico and Bloomberg write that “Macron wants to persuade Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan to move closer to Europe instead of cooperation with Russia, and also to strengthen uranium exports to the EU.” The media recall that the European Union was unable to impose sanctions against Russian uranium due to its dependence on it.
AFP, citing the administration of President Macron, writes that Paris’s task is to continue to be present in Central Asia. The media claims that “against the backdrop of the conflict in Ukraine, the influence of the Russian Federation in the region as a key economic and military partner of the Central Asian countries is weakening,” and in addition to the United States and the EU, China and Turkey are also participating in the “race for influence.”
RBC, citing Bloomberg, writes that Macron’s visit to Kazakhstan is “part of a broader trend”: Kazakhstan is among the states with which the G7 countries decided to deepen their partnership in connection with military operations in Ukraine and fears of Chinese economic expansion.
The publication recalls that France and the European Union receive uranium from Niger (24%) and Russia (20%). The share of exports from Kazakhstan accounted for 23%. At the same time, the EU plans to abandon Russian uranium as part of international sanctions, but so far the EU has not found a sufficient amount of fuel from other suppliers.
Source: Rosbalt
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