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Central Asian nations realize magnitude of severing ties with Russia — MFA

Maria Zakharova stressed that this was not about support for the anti-Russian policy of the US, the EU and their satellites

MOSCOW, May 17. /TASS/. Central Asian countries realize that breaking ties with Russia would have a more negative effect than secondary sanctions from the West, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told a briefing Wednesday.

"We are sure that Central Asian capitals are well aware that neither the West nor anyone else will be able or willing to compensate for the damage from artificially restricting ties with our country," the diplomat said.

"We assume that our partners also understand that the potential losses from the curtailment of ties with our country would be immeasurably greater than the effect of the notorious secondary sanctions," Zakharova added.

Zakharova stressed that this was not about support for the anti-Russian policy of the US, the EU and their satellites. "All our Central Asian partners: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan remain faithful to the ties of friendship, good-neighborliness, interaction, cooperation and simply our common historical roots," the diplomat stressed. "All this is based on the principles of allied relations and strategic partnership," she noted.

The spokeswoman also pointed out that when word came out that some Central Asian countries were giving signs to Russia that they were ready to join West’s restrictive measures, "they were referring primarily to the fear of the threat of secondary sanctions against the background of unscrupulous and unlawful demands of the West to report back to them."

"Washington, Brussels and London are in a state of madness, they put open pressure on all countries without exception at the state level, and at the level of private agencies, organizations, and, of course, at the level of citizens," she added.

On Tuesday, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin said that some Central Asian countries make it clear that they are not ready to take risks and may join Western sanctions against Russia. At the same time, he stressed that Russia is determined to consistently strengthen strategic partnership relations with Central Asian countries.

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