The EU imposed trade sanctions against Kyrgyzstan due to the re-export of sanctioned goods to Russia

For the first time in history, the EU has activated a “ tool to combat sanctions circumvention ” against Kyrgyzstan due to the re-export of a number of sanctioned goods from this country to Russia, the European Council said in a statement .

Brussels has banned the export of computer numerical control (CNC) machines to Kyrgyzstan, as well as telecommunications equipment, including routers and switching equipment.

" This decision follows a thorough analysis of trade data showing a significant increase in re-exports of priority goods through Kyrgyzstan to Russia ," the statement said.

These restrictions were included in the latest, 20th package of EU sanctions against Russia, which remained blocked for a long time due to demands on Kiev from Hungary and Slovakia. These countries demanded the resumption of transit of Russian oil through the Druzhba pipeline.

According to Western economic experts, Kyrgyzstan, other Central Asian countries, as well as Armenia and Georgia play a key role in the re-export of sanctioned goods to Russia after the imposition of Western sanctions due to the Kremlin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.