Kazakhstan Rejects Russia's Demands

Kazakhstan's authorities have rejected Russia's demand to expel the Ukrainian ambassador in Astana, who had previously spoken about "the killings of Russians," reports Reuters. According to the agency, the Kazakh side accused the Russian side of inappropriate tone in the relations between "equal strategic partners."

In early September, Russian news agencies, citing anonymous sources, reported that Ukraine's ambassador to Kazakhstan, Petro Vrublevsky, had left the country amid a scandal over his statements. It was suggested that the diplomat had departed at the "request of local authorities," while the Kazakh Foreign Ministry denied these reports, stating that Vrublevsky was on vacation. The diplomat later returned to work.

On Tuesday, October 4, the Russian Foreign Ministry announced that Kazakhstan's ambassador to Moscow, Yermek Kosherbayev, had been summoned. It was noted that the diplomat was informed that such a situation was absolutely unacceptable, as Vrublevsky continues to lead Ukraine's diplomatic mission in Kazakhstan.

On Wednesday, the Russian ambassador to Kazakhstan, Alexey Borodavkin, stated that he was also summoned by the Kazakh Foreign Ministry to discuss this situation and comments made by the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova.