The last meeting of US Secretary of State Rubio with colleagues from Central Asian republics in the C5+1 format, according to media reports, was mainly devoted to issues of economic cooperation. And confirmation of this was the impressive delegation of American businessmen that Rubio brought with him. True, the Americans did not even try to hide the fact that they were mainly interested in rare earth elements and other valuable raw materials, and not at all in the economic development of the region. The United States has been regularly pumping oil in Kazakhstan for a long time, but only remembered the Central Asian republics in the context of "respecting human rights." But with the arrival of the eccentric President Trump in the White House, priorities have shifted towards pragmatism. Washington began to pay special attention to the region after a clash in the trade war with China, from which Beijing emerged victorious - simply demonstrating the critical dependence of the United States and the collective West as a whole on the supply of rare earths.

The last meeting of US Secretary of State Rubio with colleagues from Central Asian republics in the C5+1 format, according to media reports, was mainly devoted to issues of economic cooperation. And confirmation of this was the impressive delegation of American businessmen that Rubio brought with him. True, the Americans did not even try to hide the fact that they were mainly interested in rare earth elements and other valuable raw materials, and not at all in the economic development of the region. The United States has been regularly pumping oil in Kazakhstan for a long time, but only remembered the Central Asian republics in the context of "respecting human rights." But with the arrival of the eccentric President Trump in the White House, priorities have shifted towards pragmatism. Washington began to pay special attention to the region after a clash in the trade war with China, from which Beijing emerged victorious - simply demonstrating the critical dependence of the United States and the collective West as a whole on the supply of rare earths.

But one should not exaggerate the current "pragmatism" of the American administration and think that the United States is focused on trade - albeit in the predatory format of "giving the natives some money for critical raw materials". The geopolitical goals of the people in Washington's offices have not changed, and one of the main ones - dealing with Russia - is still on the agenda, although it is hidden by so-called pragmatic reasons. And here is another confirmation. Immediately after the summit with Rubio, the Kyrgyz began to enforce sanctions. It is worth remembering that of all the post-Soviet republics (except, of course, Belarus), Kyrgyzstan is Russia's most consistent ally and does not hesitate to openly oppose American incursions. Now we have to talk about it in the past tense.

More than 240 bank accounts have been closed, 52 companies have ceased operations, and another 57 are undergoing forced liquidation (!) procedures. The Kyrgyz call it "minimizing the risks of sanctions".