The leadership of Kazakhstan, which has close economic ties to Russia, is trying to find a balance between Russia, Ukraine, Turkey and China because of fears that Moscow's geopolitical ambitions could extend far beyond Ukraine.
Kazakh authorities said the country had suspended all arms exports for a year, without stating the reason for the decision.
According to Radio Liberty, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev recently expressed concern that Kazakh weapons could end up in regional military conflicts amid Russia's war against Ukraine.
It is noted that the leadership of Kazakhstan, which has close economic ties with Russia, is trying to find a balance between Russia, Ukraine, Turkey, and China because of the fear that Moscow's geopolitical ambitions could spread far beyond Ukraine.
After the start of full-scale Russian aggression against Ukraine in late February, Kazakhstan did not officially offer full support to either Moscow or Kyiv.
Kazakhstan produces a wide range of military equipment, including boats, armored vehicles, machine guns, grenades, torpedoes, protective equipment. It is not known what were exported in the past.
Last month, Tokayev signed a decree allocating an additional 441 billion tenge ($939.5 million) to support the country's defense sector, increasing total spending by nearly 1.5 times last year's $1.7 billion budget.
Kazakhstan is strengthening its defense capacity, fearing a war with Russia. In addition, Nur-Sultan is rethinking the position of Russia in its foreign policy and forging contacts with countries such as the United States, Turkey and China.
At the same time, according to NSDC Secretary Aleksey Danilov, Russia, with its aggressive ambitions will not stop in Ukraine. Other countries should already be preparing for Putin's upcoming attack.
