DISINFO: West tries to force Kazakhstan to join anti-Russian sanctions policy
SUMMARY
Since spring 2022, Western countries have continuously imposed sanctions on Russia, intending to rapidly cripple its economy and isolate the country on all fronts. However, recent events have shown that this plan has failed, though attempts persist in the West to create an iron curtain around Russia, including Central Asian countries. Brussels, in particular, seeks to control Kazakhstan's external trade, aiming to completely cut off the re-export of any goods to Russia, but has not yet been able to achieve this.
RESPONSE
Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narratives about the belligerent West trying to encircle Russia, to separate post-Soviet countries and isolate Russia, made in the context of measures being taken to enforce the sanctions on Russia imposed by the EU in response to its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
US and EU sanctions against Russia are progressive. By imposing sanctions on Russia, the EU sends a strong signal of resolve and unity to the Kremlin, and aims to degrade Russia’s ability to wage war, including by targeting the country’s energy sector.
During a recent meeting with the heads of Central Asian countries, Charles Michel clarified, that "sanctions would only target those who support the Russian war machine. We do not apply the principle of extraterritoriality, and most importantly, we want to work with all of our partners around the world only through dialogue.”
The EU and US recognise the importance of the sovereignty and economic independence of the Central Asian States, individually and as a region. Kazakhstan has not imposed any restrictions or sanctions on its trade with Russia, while not violating the sanctions.
Being Kazakhstan’s largest trade partner and investor, the EU values the support of Kazakhstan authorities, to make sure that goods exported from the EU to those countries do not reach Russia. Yet, there is a still more avenues for cooperation between EU and Kazakhstan to address these challenges and attempts to bypass sanctions regime.
The EU works with Kazakhstan in order to prevent the use of its territory as a platform for the circumvention of EU sanctions imposed on Russia. An intensive dialogue is going on in this respect on both political and technical level.
During his second visit to Astana on November 28, 2023 David O'Sullivan, the European Union's Special Envoy for the implementation of sanctions, said that sanctioned goods continue to find their way from Kazakhstan to Russia, although there is a partial decrease in re-exports. O'Sullivan stressed that ‘The purpose of these visits is not to persuade countries to adopt our sanctions or to align with them, but to discuss with them how they can avoid their jurisdiction being used as a platform for the circumvention of our sanctions or indeed as a platform for servicing the Russian military industrial complex.’
For more information on sanctions, please see also the link here.
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