The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan has expressed protest regarding the attack on the facilities of the Caspian Pipeline Consortium located in the seaport of Novorossiysk. As a result of the nighttime attack by maritime drones on November 29, one of the berths was damaged, significantly complicating the transportation of oil from Kazakhstan through this port for further loading onto tankers.
This is reported by Kyiv24
Kazakhstan’s Position on the Incident
In its statement, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan placed the responsibility for the attack on Ukraine, despite the fact that official Kyiv has not acknowledged involvement in this event, unlike other attacks on facilities in Russia. The Kazakh side emphasized that this is already the third such case of aggression against civilian infrastructure operating in accordance with international law.
“We expect the Ukrainian side to take effective measures to prevent such incidents in the future,” the statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan reads.
Earlier, according to the Kazakh side, Ukrainian drones had already attacked one of the CPC facilities in Russia and the company’s office in Novorossiysk. At the time of publication, there had been no official response from Kyiv to these accusations.
Kazakhstan’s Dependence on Russian Infrastructure
Kazakhstan remains an ally of Russia in the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) and maintains close ties with Moscow; however, official Astana maintains neutrality in the war between Russia and Ukraine. Kazakhstan also did not support the Russian occupation and the attempt to annex Ukrainian territories, and the country’s authorities strive to avoid secondary sanctions in trade with Russia.
The Caspian Pipeline Consortium is a large-scale international project involving Kazakhstan, Russia, and leading global oil companies. The pipeline stretches for 1,500 kilometers and primarily transports oil from Western Kazakhstan and Russia. In the ownership structure of the consortium, Russia holds 24% of the shares, Kazakhstan 19%, and the remainder belongs to several large Western oil corporations.