Kazakhstan has restricted the export of goods to Russia that can be used for military purposes following demands from the West that the Central Asian nation and its neighbors abide by sanctions imposed on Moscow over its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Kazakh Deputy Trade Minister Kairat Torebaev said on October 19 that the export to Russia of 106 goods “related to the war” had been banned by the government, including items such as drone components, electronics, and computer chips manufactured abroad.
“We have completely restricted their export,” he said.
Western countries have criticized Kazakhstan and other Central Asian governments for allowing military supplies to cross their borders and flow into Russia since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
An RFE/RL investigation published in June revealed how sanctioned Western electronics make their way to Russia via Kyrgyz and Kazakh firms -- some set up shortly after the Kremlin's invasion of Ukraine -- and end up in the hands of companies that have supplied the Russian defense industry.
Both the United States and the European Union have been urging Central Asian governments to resist efforts by Moscow to use trade routes through the region to evade sanctions imposed on Russia because of its war.
The EU has sought to crack down on re-exports of sensitive goods by third countries to Russia with a measure allowing it to restrict certain exports to states that fail to cooperate.
The October 19 announcement came weeks after Kazakh President Qasym-Zhomart Toqaev vowed not to help Russia circumvent Western sanctions after talks with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Berlin.
“Kazakhstan has unambiguously stated that it will follow the sanctions regime,” Toqaev said on September 28.
Kazakhstan is a close economic and military ally of Moscow, and it shares a 7,500-kilometer border with Russia and has strong ties with Moscow despite its invasion of Ukraine.
Earlier in October Tokaev met Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Novo-Ogaryovo state residence outside Moscow.
Kazakhstan was among 32 countries that abstained from voting on a UN resolution calling for an immediate end to Russia's war in Ukraine and the removal of Russian forces from Ukrainian territory in February 2023.