Lavrov believes that external forces are trying to undermine ties between Russia and Kazakhstan

09 November 2021


Manifestations of nationalism in relation to the Russian-speaking citizens of Kazakhstan are often the result of information influence of external forces that seek to undermine ties between Moscow and Nur-Sultan. This is stated in an article by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, "Russia and Kazakhstan: cooperation without borders," published Tuesday in the "Rossiyskaya Gazeta".


"Unfortunately, recently we have witnessed a number of resonant manifestations of xenophobia against Russian-speaking citizens of Kazakhstan. Some cases are largely the product of the use of special information techniques from the outside, aimed at cultivating local nationalism and discrediting cooperation with Russia," the minister noted.


He emphasized that the level of bilateral relations "allows joint measures for each alarming case". "We use direct channels of communication for this purpose, through the MFA, law enforcement and justice agencies, as well as the administration of the presidents. The non-governmental sector, the expert and journalistic communities of the two countries work closely together," Lavrov said.


According to him, Russia and Kazakhstan have demonstrated "considerable success in the consolidation of society and strengthening of interethnic harmony" throughout their recent history. The Russian foreign minister also drew attention to the fact that the Russian-speaking community in Kazakhstan and the Kazakh community in Russia help maintain ties between the peoples of the two countries. As noted in the article, both sides are well aware of the importance of the unifying mission of the Russian language.


"According to the Constitution of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Russian language has the status of an official language and is used on a par with the Kazakh language. I see this as a huge advantage for Kazakh youth who link their lives and work with Russia and the CIS space in general. We will continue to provide multifaceted support to schools, vocational and higher educational institutions of Kazakhstan that train teachers and specialists with knowledge of the Russian language," concluded the minister.

 

 

GSV "Russia - Islamic World"

Photo: Russian Foreign Ministry

Based on materials from TASS