US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday vowed US support for Kazakhstan's independence on a trip to boost influence in Central Asia.
The top US diplomat met with President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and with the Foreign Minister Mukhtar Tileuberdi
Blinken said that the United States was "determined to make even stronger" the US relationship with Kazakhstan, which has embraced cooperation with Washington since its independence on the collapse of the Soviet Union.
In Astana, Blinken will also meet with the foreign ministers of all five former Soviet republics in Central Asia – which also include Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan.
The trip is the most senior to Central Asia by an official in US President Joe Biden's administration and comes days after the anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which has received billions of dollars in Western support
