Russia has publicly expressed concern about the accelerating pace of US and European efforts to secure access to rare earths and critical minerals in Central Asia, with Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin warning that Washington’s campaign goes beyond commercial competition and amounts to an attempt to build Western-controlled infrastructure on Russia’s borders.
“We are concerned by the intensity with which Washington is pushing agreements on critical minerals and rare earth metals,” Galuzin told Izvestia in an interview published on Wednesday. “This is not merely about economic competition, but about an attempt to push Russia out and create a Western-controlled infrastructure in the immediate vicinity of our borders.”
The remarks reflect Moscow’s growing unease as the G7 nations — including the US and EU member states — have intensified diplomatic and financial engagement with Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan in pursuit of alternatives to China’s dominant position in rare earth and critical mineral supply chains. Russia has traditionally regarded the five Central Asian republics as its sphere of influence, a position now being tested simultaneously by Chinese economic expansion into the region and Western strategic outreach.
The US has been particularly active. President Donald Trump hosted the leaders of all five Central Asian nations at the White House in November, describing critical minerals as a key administration priority and using the summit to advance new supply chain agreements. The US has since signed memoranda of understanding with both Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan and backed a $1.1 billion tungsten investment in Kazakhstan with Export-Import Bank financing.
