French President Emmanuel Macron arrived in Kazakhstan on Wednesday, the first leg of his trip to Central Asia, a region long regarded as Russia's backyard which has drawn fresh Western attention since the war in Ukraine began.
Oil-rich Kazakhstan has already emerged as a replacement supplier of crude to European nations turning off Russian supply and an important link in the new China-Europe trade route bypassing Russia.
"We will be able to make progress on important international matters, underscore our commitment to the United Nations charter and principles such as territorial integrity and national sovereignty," he said through an interpreter. Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, where Macron will go next, have refused to recognise Russia's annexation of Ukrainian territories and have pledged to abide by Western sanctions against Moscow, while calling both Russia and Western nations such as France their strategic partners.
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