European Union Special Representative for Sanctions David O’Sullivan arrived in Kyrgyzstan, where on March 28 he met with representatives of the country’s leadership. At the briefing, he announced plans to visit Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and a number of other countries, which have questions related to circumvention of anti-Russian sanctions, IA Fergana writes.
“We respect the opinion of countries that do not support sanctions against Russia. But we would not want them to become a platform for circumventing sanctions,” O’Sullivan explained at a briefing in Bishkek.
“Our task is to ensure the effective implementation of sanctions. After analyzing trade flows, we note a significant increase, which was not there before. Kyrgyzstan is one of these states. But I note that not the only country. I visited the UAE, Turkey. I intend to visit Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Georgia and Armenia,” he said.
O’Sullivan said that by the end of 2022, the export of goods from the European Union to Kyrgyzstan increased by 300%, and for some positions – advanced technologies and dual-use goods – by 700%.
“We want to know if you have increased demand and appetite, or if goods are being exported to Russia, which in turn will cause problems,” O’Sullivan said.
According to the special representative, the EU does not want the exported products to be used for military purposes, and the components to be found in Russian weapons.
“We have concerns that many goods that are transited through the Russian Federation remain there. We want confirmation that this is not the case. We have already banned the transit of some goods through Russia, and we would not like to expand the list. We would like assurance from partners that this will not happen,” O’Sullivan said.
He stressed that it is important for the European Union to establish channels of communication with the authorities of countries that have not joined the sanctions. At the same time, the EU understands that each state has its own economic and political context.
“We respect it. We know that Kyrgyzstan has strong and extensive trade and economic ties with Russia. We do not intend to harm them. We are working to strengthen and improve relations between the European Union and Kyrgyzstan. This requires a dialogue to get accurate information about trade flows and the measures that will be taken. We are ready to provide assistance to increase the capacity of regulatory authorities. They should better understand the nature and nature of the sanctions. We are ready to send a mission for these purposes in the fall,” said David O’Sullivan.
Earlier, in mid-March, The Economist magazine compiled a rating of countries that are considered Russia’s geopolitical allies.
Kyrgyzstan took third place in it (after Belarus and Armenia), Kazakhstan and Tajikistan were in fourth place, Uzbekistan shared tenth place with Nicaragua and India.
Source: asiaplustj