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Kazakhstan won’t make moves hurting Russian interests — Tokayev’s spokesman

"We are hoping that no such actions will be taken with respect to Kazakhstan either," Ruslan Zheldibay said

NUR-SULTAN, July 7. /TASS/. Kazakhstan won’t make moves that could harm Russian interests as it remains a strategic partner and an ally, Ruslan Zheldibay, a spokesman for the president of Kazakhstan, said on Thursday.

He said reporters were asking questions about the meeting held by the head of state on the development of the transport and transit potential of Kazakhstan. "It was about, first of all, a diversification of routes for delivery of Kazakh hydrocarbons to international markets in the context of geopolitical turbulence," he said on Facebook (banned in Russia as it’s owned by Meta Corporation, which is designated as extremist in Russia). "A business discussion took place at the meeting about construction of new transport corridors in the spirit of pragmatism."

The spokesman said that construction would take a long time and the decisions that were adopted weren’t politically motivated.

He said Russia is an ally and "no moves will be made to harm its interests."

"We are hoping that no such actions will be taken with respect to Kazakhstan either," the spokesman said.

President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said earlier on Thursday that the country needs to diversify oil export routes and said a Trans-Caspian route was a priority. Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said later on Thursday the Kremlin didn’t see that statement as politically-motivated.