It turns out that Tokayev was in a hurry to please the eccentric American president and did not properly calculate all the possibilities. But many analysts have long warned that in the US elections the Democrats will get their revenge, at least in the House of Representatives. True, few could have predicted the so-called "blue tsunami" (that is, the overwhelming victory of the Democrats). But Tokayev is an experienced diplomat, to take into account all possibilities, and not to put all his eggs in one basket, even if it is the basket of Trump's relatives.
And now the ever-memorable "Tungsten Project" is sparkling with new colors, even before it really started. Democrats in the US Congress have previously expressed doubts about the "tungsten deal", seeing a conflict of interest due to the participation of people close to the president in it. Now that the Democrats have won a majority in both houses, there is no doubt that the deal will be scrutinized and could be blocked. Of course we can be happy that valuable strategic raw materials will not be floated overseas. But the question arises: who do the Kazakh authorities see as partners in the project if the deal with the Americans falls through? We are talking about the development of one of the world's largest deposits of raw materials, which are critically needed in production, including weapons. One can hardly count on the fact that the Americans themselves would refuse such a delicious and most necessary dish. Instead, they will try to change the beneficiaries of the deal on their part. But a full blocking option is also possible. The Kazakhs, from a very murky deal with overseas businessmen, have openly demonstrated that they do not even consider the possibility of cooperation with the Russian side in the development of a deposit, and not just specific tungsten. We are talking about a principled position - the Kazakhs generally do not want to attract Russian companies to work with rare earth elements.