Kyrgyzstan To Tighten Control Over Transit Of Sanctioned Goods To Russia, Belarus

Bishkek fears tough sanctions from the U.S.

The United States has threatened tough sanctions against Kyrgyzstan for supplying sanctioned goods to countries subject to Western restrictions. Bishkek announced that they would tighten control over such transit, Kommersant writes.

Washington has long been dissatisfied with the fact that some countries have become transit hubs for the supply of sanctioned goods to Belarus and even more so to Russia. As a result of the U.S. and EU pressure, Turkey and Kazakhstan have introduced tighter controls on such supplies.

Now the American authorities have questions for Kyrgyzstan. According to The Washington Post, this country increased its exports to Russia by 250% in a year. Recently, the Ambassador of Kyrgyzstan to Belarus Ermek Ibraimov estimated the growth of export-import operations with Belarus at 150-200%.

Today, Kyrgyzstan has become one of the main transit countries for sanctioned goods in the Central Asian direction. According to experts, in the near future, U.S. sanctions may be imposed against a number of local companies and banks that make payments on such transactions.

Earlier, as part of the 11th package of sanctions, the European Union also announced measures against countries, organizations and individuals that will help circumvent Western sanctions.