US to slap sanctions on Kyrgyzstan for aiding Russia- report
The United States is preparing ‘economic measures’ against Kyrgyzstan over its assistance to Russia in evading sanctions, the Washington Post reported on Wednesday, citing two US officials.
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The measures, likely to be announced later this week, may include listing individuals and entities suspected of abetting Moscow.
Records show the overall volume of Kyrgyzstan’s exports to Russia skyrocketed in 2022, rising by 250 percent over the previous year. For some items, such as rifle scopes, there was no previous record of Kyrgyzstan ever exporting such goods to Russia.
In addition, Kyrgyzstan supplies dual-use goods to Russian companies, including Chinese drones.
Earlier this year, Kyrgyz companies made bulk purchases of sensitive electronics — including hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of specialised semiconductors and voltage amplifiers — from Chinese and South Korean companies.
A nearly identical quantity of the same types of electronics was exported from Kyrgyzstan to Russia over the same period, the documents show.
Current and former US officials who the Washington Post spoke with said they acknowledged Kyrgyzstan’s geopolitical and economic difficulties, while noting that some of the country’s neighbours appear to be making a more sincere effort to enforce the sanctions, even in the face of enormous pressure from Moscow.
