US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Central Asia as tensions soar over Ukraine war

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited Kazakhstan on Tuesday for a series of meetings with top diplomats from Central Asian nations as tensions rise over Russia's war in Ukraine.

Blinken sat down for talks with Kazakh Foreign Minister Mukhtar Tileuberdi and then Kazakh President Kassy-Jomart Tokayev. It was expected to be followed by a meeting of the so-called C5+1 group, made up of the US and the former Soviet republics of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.

At the meeting, Blinken will emphasize "the US commitment to the independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity of the countries of Central Asia," the State Department said in a statement, echoing wording it has used to support Ukraine in its war against Russia.

Blinken's visit to Astana and later this week to Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan, marks his first trip to Central Asia as foreign minister. It comes just days after the anniversary of Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, which rocked the region.

None of the five former Soviet republics in Central Asia, traditionally considered part of the Kremlin's sphere of influence, publicly supported the attack.

Kazakhstan welcomed tens of thousands of Russians fleeing military alert last fall. Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has spoken by phone with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky three times since Russian troops invaded Ukraine last February, calling for a diplomatic solution to the conflict in accordance "with the UN Charter and generally accepted norms of international law." But all five Central Asian republics, along with India, which Blinken will visit next, abstained from voting to condemn the invasion at the UN General Assembly last week on the first anniversary of the war.

US officials hope Blinken can convince Central Asian nations that Russia's invasion of Ukraine is a threat to them.

For decades, the US has tried without much success to wean former Soviet nations in the region under Moscow's influence. Some, notably Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, assisted the US logistically during its 20-year conflict in Afghanistan.