By MATTHEW LEE
NUR-SULTAN, Kazakhstan (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is in Kazakhstan pressing authorities to be wary of Russian and Chinese investment and influence.
Bringing a message similar to one he has delivered repeatedly to other countries, Pompeo was telling senior Kazakh officials on Sunday that the attractiveness of such investment comes with a cost to sovereignty and may hurt, instead of help, long-term development.
Pompeo began a brief visit to the country by meeting with ethnic Kazakhs whose families have gone missing or been detained in China’s crackdown on Muslims and other ethnic and religious minorities in western Xinjiang region.
Pompeo was also congratulating Kazakhstan on its repatriation of Islamic State fighters from Iraq and Syria. Kazakhstan has taken back nearly 600 fighters and family members detained in areas formerly controlled by the group.
“Grateful to #Kazakhstan for not forcibly returning members of Muslim minority groups to an uncertain fate in China and protecting those who seek asylum,” Pompeo said on his Twitter account.
However, Kazakhstan has some under some criticism for pressure against an activist who had campaigned for the release of ethnic Kazakhs in China. He was threatened with a long prison sentence, but signed an admission of guilt for inciting ethnic tensions.
In addition, Pompeo was urging senior officials in the Central Asian nation to continue reforms that would allow greater U.S. investment in the country.
At a news conference with Foreign Minister Mukhtar Tleuberdo, Pompeo praised Kazakhstan for its efforts to counter the spread of a new virus from China and said the United States is helping the country with expertise from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and providing laboratory equipment.
Kazakhstan’s “quick action to stop the spread of the virus has been incredibly impressive,” he said.
Kazakhstan is among the growing list of countries that have suspended travel links with China.