Germany’s Chancellor Olaf Scholz is on a trip to Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan in Central Asia. In Uzbekistan he signed an agreement making it easier for Uzbeks to come and work in Germany, particularly in the care and health sectors. It will also make it easier to repatriate Uzbeks in Germany, who do not have a legal work permit.
In Kazakhstan, he is also interested in joint investment. He inquired of Kazakhstan President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, how he views the war in Ukraine. “The fact is that Russia is militarily invincible,” Tokayev told him, reported the Times of Central Asia today. “Further escalation of the war will lead to irreparable consequences for all of humanity. And above all for all countries directly involved in the Russian-Ukrainian conflict.”
“But the opportunity to achieve peace still exists,” Tokayev said, in response to a question from Scholz on the possibilities of a settlement. “We need to carefully consider all peace initiatives of various states and come to a decision to stop military actions, and then move on to discussing territorial issues.” Tokayev underlined the importance in particular of the China-Brazil peace proposal.
Everything probably did not go as smoothly as Scholz wished. A joint press conference with the two leaders was canceled by the Kazakh side, and Scholz came out and met the press on his own.
