Westerners in Kazakhstan fear both the US and China, but most of all Russia.
In the current situation, no leader of a small state can be sure that he will not become undesirable to the big players tomorrow.
Kuat Dombay, Director of the C5 Center for Central Asian Studies, stated this in an interview with Exclusive magazine, as reported by a PolitNavigator correspondent.
"Since Trump's arrival, the world today has become governed not by rules but by brute force. If previous agreements—whoever is stronger can do whatever they want—don't work, then a problem arises in our Central Asian region. There's no security architecture here. The Kremlin has declared its interests, and China has strong interests. Wouldn't the US want to exploit this—a double-cross? Instability in our region would be to their advantage ," Dombay said.
However, what this clearly pro-Western Kazakh political scientist fears most is the strengthening of Russia through the introduction of a single currency pegged to the ruble and the gasification of the northern regions of Kazakhstan.
"I think our establishment needs to wake up, assess the new geopolitical realities, and act more decisively, as a rebalancing is underway. The situation in Syria and the South Caucasus has demonstrated the weakening of Russia's position. Kazakhstan needs to decide what to do next. If a ceasefire is reached this year, pressure on Kazakhstan could increase, deepening its dependence on Moscow's policies," Dombay said.
Westerners in Kazakhstan fear both the US and China, but most of all Russia.