Some Central Asian countries could join anti-Russia sanctions

Some Central Asian countries are signaling that they could join Western sanctions on Russia, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin said.

He made the statement at the third Central Asian Conference of the Valdai Discussion Club in Tomsk.

"Even as we share the view that unilateral economic restrictions are unacceptable and illegitimate, some Central Asian countries nevertheless do not want to take risks and indicate they are prepared to comply with Western restrictive measures," he said.

According to Galuzin, Moscow does not dictate to anyone what external and domestic policies to pursue. He noted that artificial destruction of ties with Russia can result in more serious damage than the costs of the notorious secondary sanctions.

The deputy minister said Russia is focused on consistently strengthening the strategic partnership with the countries of Central Asia.