National Economy Minister comments on anti-Russian sanctions impact on Kazakhstan
"In the long run, these sanctions will have a certain impact on the Russian economy and, by extension, accordingly, being a founding member state of the Eurasian Economic Union, we will also need to see the impact they will have on us. For instance, we have discussed the issue of pipelines. The pipeline that links our oil to the seas, to Novorossiysk in particular, is not covered by the sanctions. That is, American companies such as Chevron, which are the investors of the Caspian Pipeline Consortium, got the Congress exclude such transit pipelines from the sanctions. In this respect, the delivery of our oil to foreign markets will not be affected," Timur Suleimenov told the journalists on the sidelines of a Government session.
"As to the possible deterioration in the economic situation of Russia, it has always been the case. We always live in the situation where the other partner, for example, China, has a slowdown. They were growing at 6.9-7%, now it is 6.3% only. Unfortunately, the Russian economy had not been at its best anyway. It has been showing a decline for two consecutive years, so we got used to it. This year, it is planned to have a certain growth, and that is a positive thing," the minister stressed.
According to him, "we should be ready, but we do not want to dramatize". "We do not consider this an extraordinary event. We believe that the effect will be about the same as any rise or fall in oil price or metal index or economic slowdown in any of our partner countries. I mean that nothing extraordinary, with an immediate effect, is happening," Timur Suleimenov summed up.
Recall, the Head of State Nursultan Nazarbayev also spoke out about the possible impact of the sanctions on Kazakhstan in a meeting with the Prime Minister. "I think the Government is working hard and I urge everyone, we have to work hard to finish this year with good indicators. There are certain risks, such as fluctuations in prices for our energy sources and raw materials, and perhaps, the Western sanctions on Russia. Thus, all of this must be taken into account," the President said. It should be noted that in early August the US President Donald Trump signed a bill approving sanctions against Russia, Iran, and North Korea.