Kazakhstan bans exports to Russia that could be used in war

ASTANA (AFP): Kazakhstan has banned exports to Russia of 106 goods that could be used in the Ukraine war after the ex-Soviet state vowed not to help its ally circumvent Western sanctions, local media said Thursday.

On a visit to Berlin last month, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said his country will “follow the sanctions regime”, amid suspicions Moscow is still receiving vital goods via Kazakhstan.

Deputy trade minister Kairat Torebayev said the banned exports included “drones, their electronic components, special equipment and chips”, the Kazinform state news agency reported Thursday.

Local Kazakh media outlets reported that the ban would only apply to products “linked to the war.”

Kazakhstan’s trade ministry did not immediately respond to an AFP request to comment.

Russia was hit with an unprecedented package of sanctions after it invaded Ukraine in February 2022 in a Western bid to damage its economy and limit its ability to obtain hi-tech goods with military uses.

There has since been a boom in cross-border trade between Russia and some of its close neighbours, including Kazakhstan, triggering Western concerns Moscow has been obtaining banned goods through deals with suppliers in other countries.

Kazakhstan is just one of several ex-Soviet states the West suspects of importing embargoed goods from Europe and the United States for onwards sale to Russia, alongside the likes of Turkey, China and the United Arab Emirates.

The heads of five Central Asian nations — Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan — promised in September to make “additional efforts to prevent sanctions evasion” during a meeting in Berlin with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.