The possibility of Kazakhstan getting invaded by a foreign country seems remote, but in that unlikely event, which country would Kazakhs count on to defend them? By an overwhelming margin, the answer is Russia, according to a poll from the Kazakhstan Institute for Strategic Studies. Via BBC Monitoring:
"To the question: 'In case of aggression against Kazakhstan's sovereignty, what country's support do you count on?'," 63.5 per cent answered "on Russia's support", said Bulat Sultanov, the head of the institute.
Below that, 14.2 percent said they would count on "Islamic states," and 11.5 percent on unspecified Central Asian states. Only 4.3 percent said the U.S., and 3.5 percent said China.
Joshua Kucera, a senior correspondent, is Eurasianet's former Turkey/Caucasus editor and has written for the site since 2007.
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