EU may target Asian nations that help Russia evade sanctions – Telegraph

Brussels is reportedly concerned about an uptick in dual-use items being shipped to Central Asia

The European Union may introduce trade restrictions on Central Asian countries over alleged help to Russia to circumvent sanctions imposed on Moscow over the military operation in Ukraine, The Telegraph reported on Friday, citing a confidential paper.

Officials in Brussels who are monitoring trade flows to Moscow have reportedly detected a major increase of up to 80% in trading of consumer goods between the EU member states and the nations in central Asia.

The upsurged is reportedly related to EU exports of goods that contain so-called “dual-use” technologies, which have both military and civilian applications. Items of the kind, which include washing machines, used cars and cameras, are on a EU list of items prohibited for export to Russia.

The bloc will restrict access to its market for Asian nations that are seen as Russia’s traditional allies, if the diplomats find any evidence of re-export of goods to sanction-hit country.

READ MORE: US probes Swiss banks over Russian clients – Bloomberg

Earlier this week, eurasianet.org reported citing an unnamed government official that Kazakhstan is planning start monitoring goods that pass through the country to demonstrate compliance with Western efforts to isolate Russia’s economy. The former Soviet Republic will reportedly introduce an online system to track all goods entering and exiting the country starting April 1.

Turkey, Armenia and the UAE are also under scrutiny of G7 diplomats for potential help being offered to Russia to circumvent the implementation of Western sanctions.

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