EU sanctions envoy praises Kazakhstan for cooperation
David O’Sullivan, the International Special Envoy for the Implementation of EU Sanctions, said the European Commission is satisfied with the current level of cooperation and interaction with Kazakhstan, the Interfax news agency reported.
«As you know, this is my third visit [to Kazakhstan]. Our key concern is that Kazakhstan may become a source of re-export of sanctioned goods to Russia. We’ve noticed a significant increase in imports to Kazakhstan and are worrying that some of these goods might be redirected to Russia,» O’Sullivan said during a press conference in Astana.
Nevertheless, the EU envoy noted that the two sides have achieved noticeable progress concerning the re-export of goods that might potentially be used for military purposes.
«We have been asking Kazakhstan to focus on a small portion of sanctioned goods since my first visit. We call them high-priority items. I prefer to call them ‘artifacts found on the battlefield’ by our Ukrainian colleagues in combat zones with Russian troops. We have made significant progress on this matter since April 2023. We’ve seen a significant decrease in the import and re-export figures of certain goods through Kazakhstan. There is progress,» said O’Sullivan
The list of high-priority items includes 50 dual-use items like processors, transistors and radio navigational devices as well as components for aircraft, helicopters and unmanned aerial vehicles.
The European official also highlighted that the EU respects Kazakhstan’s decision not to join the anti-Russian sanctions and is grateful to the country’s government for its effort to avoid being a platform for circumvention of sanctions on Russia.
«Today I met with Deputy Prime Minister Serik Zhumangarin. We’ve discussed matters we are concerned about and shared our opinions. Overall, the European Commission is satisfied with the current level of cooperation and interaction with Kazakhstan. Of course, there will always be challenges and problems, but we are ready to discuss them and find solutions,» the European envoy underlined.
