Demonstrators showed their support for Ukraine at a rally in Almaty, capital of Russian ally Kazakhstan (Photo: AFP/Malika AUTALIPOVA)
Issued on: 06/03/2022 -
Almaty (Kazakhstan) (AFP) – Russia's ally Kazakhstan permitted a large peace rally in its biggest city Saturday as authorities in the Central Asian country look to distance themselves from Moscow's sanctions-triggering military invasion of Ukraine.
Ex-Soviet Kazakhstan's regime regularly blocks political demonstrations but has appeared spooked by suggestions that unprecedented Western sanctions against Russia over Ukraine should target Moscow's allies too.
The Kazakh foreign ministry has stressed its neutrality in the conflict and this week invited Britain's ambassador for talks after a UK lawmaker on Monday appeared to call for sanctions against individuals in the country "complicit and supporting" Russian leader Vladimir Putin.
The protest in Almaty, a financial hub of 1.8 million people, gathered over 2,000 demonstrators, who stood for the Ukrainian national anthem and chanted pro-peace slogans and insults against Putin.
Kazakhstan's foreign ministry on Saturday said it had received assurances from London that the country would not be sanctioned by the United Kingdom over Russia's invasion.
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