President Macron has signed a series of energy deals with Kazakhstan in a bid to prise the country away from the Kremlin’s influence and secure nuclear deals vital to reducing Europe’s dependence on Russia.
The French leader made his first official visit to the former Soviet country as part of a tour of Central Asia that has provoked anger in Moscow, which finds itself also vying with China and Turkey for influence in a region it has long considered its backyard.
Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, where Macron will travel next, are significant producers of uranium, oil and gas. While both are part of a formal military alliance with Russia, the Collective Security Treaty Organisation, neither has backed the invasion of Ukraine.
Macron visits central Asia to combat Russian influence
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