David O'Sullivan, the special representative of the European Union on sanctions, started his visit to Central Asian countries from Kyrgyzstan. He also plans to visit Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan to check the implementation of sanctions against Russia.
David O'Sullivan, at a briefing in Bishkek on March 28, said that he respects the opinion of countries that do not support sanctions against Russia. But the European Union noted that it does not want these countries to become a platform for circumventing sanctions.
According to him, the work to prevent the evasion of sanctions begins with the European Union itself. In addition, it is necessary to carefully monitor the situation in the partner countries and the signals that indicate the circumvention of sanctions.
"Our task is to ensure the effective implementation of sanctions. After analyzing trade flows, we note a significant growth, which was not registered before. Kyrgyzstan is one of these states. But I note that it is not the only country. I visited the UAE and Turkey. I intend to visit Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Georgia, and Armenia," said David O'Sullivan.
By the end of 2022, the export of goods from the European Union to Kyrgyzstan will increase by 300%, and advanced technologies and dual-purpose products will increase by 700%.
"We want to know whether your demand and appetite for imports has increased or whether these goods are being exported to Russia. The latter creates problems," said O'Sullivan.
According to the special representative, the EU does not want the exported products to be used for military purposes, and the components to be in Russian weapons.
"We are concerned that many goods transiting through Russia remain there. We want to confirm that this is not the case. We have already banned the transit of some goods through Russia and we do not want to expand the list. We want partners to make sure that this does not happen," said O'Sullivan.
Earlier, European officials identified trade channels from the European Union to Russia through Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and other Asian countries, through which the volume of deliveries increased by 60-80%.
Among the goods delivered are washing machines, cameras, and cars, which could be used for military purposes. The Russians are said to be using electronics and other components to repair tanks, armored personnel carriers, reconnaissance drones, and other equipment damaged in the war in Ukraine.
Now the European Union plans to impose restrictions on countries that trade with Russians, but first politicians want to solve the problem through diplomacy, threatening economic consequences. Kazakhstan has already promised to strengthen control over goods passing through the country.
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