Kyrgyzstan will start checking exports to Russia due to the threat of sanctions

In response to Washington’s threats to impose sanctions on individuals and companies in Kyrgyzstan in order to “stop the supply of dual-use goods to Russia,” the State Committee for National Security of Kyrgyzstan (GKNB) promised to conduct investigations to find such people and structures. “Private companies, as part of their business and production activities, could be involved in violations of sanctions restrictions, possibly not knowing who the actual end consumer and user of the products they supply may actually be. The Kyrgyz Republic and its state structures strictly adhere to international norms and rules,” the state committee said in a statement.

On the same day, in an interview with Interfax, Kyrgyz Prime Minister Akylbek Zhaparov said that he did not see any prerequisites for imposing economic restrictions against the republic due to the violation of sanctions by the United States and its allies against Russia. “All preventive measures have been taken so that the sanctioned goods do not cross our border and go where there are sanctions,” the Kyrgyz prime minister said. In addition, according to Zhaparov, Kyrgyz customs officers have real data on exports due to the transparency of the passage of goods across the border: “We are working in the right direction – the tracking of goods has become transparent, so I ask businesses to take electronic invoices in order to identify undeclared cargo in case of emergency.” He added that he had repeatedly discussed the issue of Kyrgyzstan’s possible circumvention of the sanctions imposed against Russia with representatives of Western delegations.

On July 19, The Washington Post, citing two US officials, reported that Washington was preparing economic measures against Bishkek to force the country to stop deliveries of dual-use goods to Russia. Officials say a decision to blacklist Kyrgyz companies will be made this week. According to the newspaper, citing trade documents, in February Kyrgyz firms ordered a large batch of sensitive electronics from Chinese and South Korean suppliers, including specialized semiconductors and amplifiers. At the same time, Kyrgyzstan exported to Russia almost the same number of such goods.

When asked by The Washington Post to the Kyrgyz embassy in Washington, its employees replied that the country’s leadership complies with international rules in the fight against smuggling and other illegal trade, and they explained the surge in mutual trade with Russia by “improving electronic systems for tracking the flow of goods across the country’s borders.” In total, according to the National Statistical Committee of the Central Asian Republic, at the end of last year, trade between Russia and Kyrgyzstan increased 1.5 times compared to 2021, reaching $3.3 billion. At the same time, over this period, the indicators of Kyrgyz exports to Russia increased 2.5 times – from $393 million to $963 million.

Earlier, Washington “for trying to evade export controls” has already imposed sanctions against companies from the CIS. In April, one company from Armenia and two from Uzbekistan fell under the restrictions.

Obviously, the inspection of private companies by the State Committee for National Security was caused by pressure from the US administration on Bishkek, Kyrgyz political scientist Mars Sariev is sure. According to the expert, Kyrgyzstan was chosen as a trial target to warn Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan. Earlier in March-April, delegations from the United States, the European Union and Great Britain visited the Kyrgyz capital in order to convince local authorities to tighten export controls, but these visits did not lead to any result, the expert says: “These countries do not have powerful economic tools to put pressure on our country: the main economic partners of Kyrgyzstan are Russia and China.”

At the same time, Sariev continues, the West has a strong presence in Kyrgyzstan in the non-profit sector. Thus, the Kyrgyz authorities fear that the West, by mobilizing civil society, will destabilize the domestic political situation in the country, the political scientist admits. “I believe that in the near future Kyrgyzstan will reveally punish some private companies and partially curtail the supply of some sensitive goods to Russia. But the matter will be limited to this, and Bishkek will build trade and economic cooperation with Moscow,” the expert noted.

At the same time, trade restrictions will not contradict the provisions and documents of the EAEU, says Doctor of Law Alexei Ispolinov. “While the members of the trade agreement undertake not to create barriers to trade with each other, states may impose trade restrictions for reasons of national security. Bishkek will use this right. So far, such cases have never been considered in the courts of the EAEU. Everyone understands the sensitivity of the current international situation, so the parties resolve such contentious issues through negotiations,” the expert noted.

Economic restrictions on Moscow were adopted unilaterally by a number of Western states, and not at the level of the UN Security Council. Therefore, according to Ispolinov, legally, each country may not follow Western recommendations and, at its own discretion, determine the list of goods allowed and prohibited for the supply of goods to Russia.

According to Vladimir Matyagin, president of the national trucking association Gruzavtotrans, a partial withdrawal of Kyrgyzstan from the dual-use supply chain will not have a serious impact on the Russian economy. “Russian companies can use new countries. On the other hand, the connection of new intermediaries in the supply chain will cause an increase in logistics and documentation costs, which will increase the cost of the final cost of goods,” the expert concluded.