Putin Filmed Smirking as Ally Publicly Pleads for Russian Restraint

The president of Kazakhstan, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, took a sharp tone against Russian efforts to further envelope allies under Moscow’s influence, just as the Kremlin signed an agreement to deploy Russian nuclear weapons in Belarus.

Speaking near Russian President Vladimir Putin on stage at an event in Moscow, Kazakh President Tokayev warned against political integration within Russia-led Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), of which Kazakhstan, Russia, and Belarus are each members. Kyrgyzstan and Armenia are also in the union.

From the outset of the event, Kazakhstan and Belarus indicated interest in collaboration in the economic realm, but not in the political space.

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