According to Reuters article published on January 3, 2023, Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Kazakh counterpart Kassym-Jomart Tokayev held a telephone call to discuss issues of cooperation in the energy sector, the Kremlin said on Tuesday.
Kazakhstan, the world’s largest landlocked country, uses Russia’s infrastructure to export its oil at a time of Western-imposed price caps and a ban on sea-borne Russian oil purchases over its actions in Ukraine.
Last week, the Russian government approved the 10-year extension of a deal with Kazakhstan for the transit of up to 10 million tonnes of oil per year to China.
At the same time, Kazakhstan is seeking to raise the supply of oil to Germany via Russia’s Druzhba pipeline, which is exempt from sanctions.
