“Of course not,” said Aybek Smadiyarov, Foreign Ministry spokesman answering the question whether Kazakhstan recognized the independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.
The editorial applied to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for comment after receiving the official press release of the regional command “West” of the Ministry of Defense of Kazakhstan entitled “The soldier in a photograph circling in world mass media sources was a native of Atyrau region”.
“A few years ago, photographs of a brave Russian soldier who alone blocked the way to a column of Georgian military during the armed conflict in South Ossetia circulated on the Internet. The other day, Aldar Damdinov, deputy of the Russian State Duma, published a post on Facebook in which he wrote the possible name of the hero - Tasbolat Ibrashev," reads the statement.
The press release describes the chronology of the events mentioning the Russian soldier.
The Foreign Ministry has not commented on the press-release of the "West" regional command , recommending to seek comments in the Ministry of Defense. However, a spokesman for the Kazakh defense ministry said he was on vacation, and asked for an official request with a press release adding that "this issue is not in the subject."
Photo source: picture from an open source