Everyone is discussing who is behind - and what lies behind - Kazakhstan’s President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev’s message to Putin that the war in Ukraine must end. These words were repeated three times. Pay attention to Putin's body language: he looked shocked, angry, and displeased⤵️
Some experts believe Tokayev was delivering a message to the Kremlin from Chinese leader Xi Jinping and that it had been coordinated. I agree that it was a message intended for Putin. Tokayev is a very experienced politician, and it's obvious he would not have made such statements on his own. But I have a different explanation for this statement. It lies in Kazakhstan's interests in Novorossiysk: Kazakhstan has temporarily suspended oil exports through the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) marine terminal near Novorossiysk because of drone attacks on tankers in the Black Sea. This route accounts for about 80% of the country's oil exports, forcing Kazakhstan to reduce production as well. Since Kazakhstan has no direct access to the sea, it cannot quickly reroute all of its exports through other routes.