The International Special Envoy for the Implementation of EU Sanctions David O’Sullivan travelled to Kazakhstan to start talks to prevent possible bypass of Russian sanctions via trade with third countries.
The Irish envoy visited Astana on April 24 and talked with local authorities on the issue. The EU is investigating what it called “unusual trade flows” of manufacturing products from third countries to Russia. The bloc fears that third countries may be used by Russia to circumvent sanctions and import certain products. Some of these may have military application and can directly support Russian war effort in Ukraine.
O’Sullivan said that the EU “have observed unusual trade flows from a range of countries” of specific products previously not exported there and the EU also noted that “exports from these countries of those products to Russia have also risen extremely.”
The envoy reassured that the EU sanctions will not target third countries and the bloc respects trade relations of other countries with Russia.
Concerning Kazakhstan, O’Sullivan underlined that “we [the EU] fully respect Kazakhstan’s decision not to take sides in this conflict and to continue its close relationship with Russia,” and was grateful that the Central Asia country reiterated that it doesn’t want to “be used as a platform for the circumvention of EU, United States, and G7 sanctions.”
The EU envoy visited the country with colleagues from the UK and the US in order to have talks with Kazakhstan on the issue and start a dialogue to look closely at trade flows in order to have a prevention system in case there is an issue with trade to Russia that circumvents sanctions.
Kazakhstan borders Russia and it is a member of the Kremlin-sponsored Eurasian Economic Union. The country is one of Russia’s main trade partners.
