This is definitely a tough guy. After Tokayev left the White House, he was immediately invited into the Kremlin to chat with Putin in Russian.

On November 11, 2025, the President of Kazakhstan, Tokayev, arrived in Moscow, the capital of Russia, for a two-day state visit. Just a few days earlier, on November 6, Tokayev was a guest of honor of US President Trump. He came to Washington along with leaders from the other four Central Asian countries to attend the "C5+1" summit, also known as the "Central Asia Plus One."

As soon as he returned home, he was invited to Moscow to have tea with Putin, fully demonstrating the meaning of the word "maneuvering."

It is worth noting that Tokayev used English in the United States, but switched to fluent Russian when he arrived in Moscow.

(Putin meets Tokayev and invites him for tea)

Let's first look at Tokayev's trip to the United States. This is a mechanism established in 2015, which somewhat targets the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. Since its establishment, foreign ministers from the six countries have almost met every year during the UN General Assembly. In 2022, a C5+1 Secretariat was established, reflecting the U.S. government's intention to institutionalize this mechanism.

In 2023, then-U.S. President Joe Biden hosted the first C5+1 leaders' meeting during the UN General Assembly in New York. However, this time, the presidents of the five Central Asian countries traveled to the United States for a summit, which carried much more weight than the usual ministerial meetings.

Russia must have been concerned about this. Russia's current national focus is entirely on the war in Ukraine, but looking back at the outbreak of this war, people should remember that the Russian army first intervened in Kazakhstan before advancing to Ukraine. In January 2022, Russia sent troops to Kazakhstan under the pretext of "peacekeeping" to quell social unrest in Almaty and other areas. Then in February, the war in Ukraine broke out.

It can be seen that Russia sees Central Asia as its backyard. It only dares to strike hard after securing its rear.

However, Tokayev does not seem very grateful for Russia's intervention. On June 17, 2022, during his attendance at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, Tokayev publicly stated in front of Putin that he did not recognize the independence of the Luhansk and Donetsk regions. He said that if such self-determination were allowed, there would not be 193 countries on Earth, but 500 to 600 countries.

The next day, Konstantin Zatulin, deputy chairman of the Committee on the Commonwealth of Independent States of the Russian State Duma, became furious and accused Tokayev of provoking Putin. He threatened that if relations between the two countries deteriorated, "everything is possible, just like in Ukraine."

Therefore, whether Central Asia remains stable and which side Kazakhstan's seat is on is very sensitive to Russia.

(Putin also held a summit with the five Central Asian countries)

Tokayev's trip to the United States did not directly address the relationship with Russia or the policy on Ukraine. The main topics were business deals. For this reason, some members of the Democratic Party were greatly dissatisfied, accusing Trump of not mentioning human rights or climate change. However, this president, who is all about profit, has never cared about empty slogans.

On November 6, the United States and Central Asia announced a series of deals, including joint development of Kazakhstan's tungsten mine; the national airlines of Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan will purchase Boeing aircraft, among which Kazakhstan Airlines plans to sign a deal for 15 787-9s. American agricultural machinery giant John Deere and Starlink constellation will also further expand their businesses in Central Asia.

As for the issue of oil and gas exports that Kazakhstan is most concerned about, Trump mentioned the peace agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan, as well as the "Trump International Peace and Prosperity Road" being built by both sides. If this route is opened up, Kazakhstan, as a Caspian Sea country, could transport its oil and gas products via sea-land transportation to the Black Sea and then into the international market.

Tokayev highly praised Trump for this, using eloquent and lofty words that can be compared to Pakistani Prime Minister Sharif's remarks in October 2025. Each sentence seemed to hit the right spot for Trump. Some commentators remarked that Tokayev is indeed a skilled and experienced diplomat. His two years of study in Beijing's Chengfu Road and Wudaokou must have been very helpful to him.

(Trump meets the heads of the five Central Asian countries)

Tokayev's performance in front of Trump made Putin even more uneasy. Is Kazakhstan going to side with the United States and bring American influence back to Central Asia again? If so, Russia's situation would become even worse. Therefore, regardless of whether it was an invitation from Russia or an initiative from Kazakhstan, Tokayev needed to make a trip to Moscow.

During his journey to Moscow, Russia even deployed Su-35 fighter jets to escort Tokayev's plane, showing respect.

(Russian military deployed Su-35 fighters loaded with missiles to "escort")

Tokayev's trip to Moscow this time was mainly to give Putin a sense of security. According to reports, the key points of his negotiations with Putin were energy cooperation and the content of the C5+1 summit. So far, Kazakhstan's oil exports still rely basically on Russian oil pipelines, and Tokayev will not risk breaking the relationship. Russia is right next door, and within a few hours, paratroopers could be dropped into Almaty.

Tokayev will not openly favor the United States, nor support Russia's territorial demands on Ukraine, otherwise he would become the next Ukraine.

In short, Tokayev is walking a tightrope between the United States and Russia, maintaining a delicate balance to ensure Kazakhstan's survival and maximize its interests amidst the turmoil of great power competition.

Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7571749897318253065/

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