Brussels chooses patient approach towards Kazakh re-exports to Russia

29.11.2023, 14:48 exclusive.kz

Brussels knows that Kazakhstan is helping Russia to get some banned goods but is taking a patient stance, seeing its long-term good relations with Astana as a much bigger priority.

That was the message delivered on Wednesday in Astana by the European Union’s special sanctions’ envoy David O’Sullivan.

After talks with Kazakh officials, O’Sullivan said Kazakhstan had significantly reduced the re-export of some sanctioned goods to Russia but increased other exports, and “there is still much to work on”.

He said such exports made up a small share of Kazakhstan’s trade, but the goods in question, such as integrated electronic components and equipment with optical sight systems, could be used for military purposes.

“This is why we insist that the re-export of such goods should be stopped,” O’Sullivan told journalists in Astana.

At the same time, he stressed that the EU believed the issue would not hinder its cooperation with Kazakhstan.

O’Sullivan already visited Astana in April when he said that Brussels was aware of the considerable increase in parallel exports from Kazakhstan to Russia and wanted to start a dialogue about it.

“We respect decisions by other countries, such as Kazakhstan, not to join the sanctions,” he said then.

He added that the EU and Kazakhstan were having “a constructive dialogue” on how Kazakhstan could help prevent evasion of sanctions and re-export of goods that might be used to make Russian military equipment.

O’Sullivan also said that “certain measures” might be taken against some companies if they continued to engage in helping Russia receive banned goods.

Kazakhstan is a member of the Eurasian Economic Union and the Customs Union together with Russia and Belarus, which makes it easy for any Kazakhstan-registered companies to exports goods to Russia.

There appears to be understanding in the EU that for certain political and economic reasons Kazakhstan cannot afford a confrontation with Russia.

Also, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has significantly increased Central Asia’s geopolitical importance in the eyes of the West. The region has vast energy and other important natural resources and is a key corridor for trade between Asia and Europe.

Notably, on Tuesday, the European Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee called for boosting ties with the Central Asian nations in view of Russia’s weakening influence in the region.

«The EU now has an opportunity to expand its ties with the region and play a more prominent role,» the committee said in a statement.

It also said that closer engagement with the countries of the region will also help «play a part in minimizing the circumvention of sanctions by Russia and Belarus» through these countries.

After Astana O’Sullivan was expected to visit Tashkent to discuss the same issue.