Russia interested in promoting cooperation with C. Asian countries in geological surveys, production, processing of rare earth metals - Foreign Ministry

MOSCOW. June 18 (Interfax) - Russia is interested in developing mutually beneficial and depoliticized cooperation with Central Asian countries in the geological prospecting, mining, and processing of rare earth metals, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova.

"Amid increasing global competition for access to local resources, primarily from the United States and the EU, Russia is interested in developing mutually beneficial and depoliticized cooperation, including with Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, in the geological prospecting, mining, and processing of rare earth metals, as well as building joint production chains with high value added," Zakharova said at a news briefing on Thursday.

Russia "views Central Asia as a strategically important region with significant potential in the field of rare earth and other critical raw materials," she said.

"Russia's approach is based on respect for the sovereignty of our partners, the absence of political conditions, and the desire to fairly distribute economic benefits with an emphasis on localization of processing, scientific and technical cooperation, personnel training, and enhancement of industrial independence of the regional states in order to avoid the situation where Central Asia is doomed to play the role as a supplier of raw materials in the context of the neocolonialism doctrine, which is not only being developed but also actually imposed by the West," she said.