Crossroads Asia | Economy | Central Asia

EU Sanctions Envoy Asks Kyrgyzstan to Stop Helping Russia Dodge Sanctions

“We are not asking Kyrgyzstan not to have trading relations with Russia. We only ask that that trading relationship does not involve the deliberate circumvention of our sanctions…” 

Amid a highly anticipated visit to Kyrgyzstan this week, the EU’s sanctions envoy, David O’Sullivan, laid out European concerns about the country’s role in re-exporting sanctioned goods to Russia.

O’Sullivan told reporters that trade flows suggest that some goods “are being imported into Kyrgyzstan with the sole purpose of being re-exported to Russia, in breach of our sanctions.” Specifically, he mentioned radio equipment and machine tools produced in Europe and imported into Kyrgyzstan with the exclusive purpose of re-export to Russia.

“What is disturbing for us is the fact that there has been a significant and very noticeable percentage, a big increase in the percentages of your imports and re-export of these products compared to the pre-war period,” O’Sullivan said.

“We are not asking Kyrgyzstan not to have trading relations with Russia. We only ask that that trading relationship does not involve the deliberate circumvention of our sanctions by the transmission through Kyrgyzstan of sanctioned EU goods to Russia,” he added.

As the Western sanctions regime targeting Russia in the wake of its February 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine has expanded, pressure on Central Asian states has intensified. Kyrgyzstan in particular has slid into an intermediary position, given its strategic location on trade routes between China and Russia, and its economic ties – such as through membership in the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) – to Russia.

In recent years, several Kyrgyz banks have come under sanctions. In August 2025, when the United Kingdom announced new sanctions targeting the Kyrgyz financial system and crypto networks London stressed, “With sanctions continuing to bite, Russia has turned to the Kyrgyz financial sector to channel money through opaque financial networks, including through the use of cryptocurrencies.” 

In October 2025, the European Union adopted its 19th package of sanctions against Russia related to the war in Ukraine, including sanctions against two Kyrgyz banks, three in Tajikistan, and one in Kazakhstan. 

These moves came despite Kyrgyz officials promising action. 

Back in 2023, following media reports highlighting Central Asia, and Kyrgyzstan in particular, as a key sanctions evasion node, the State Committee for National Security (SCNS) put out a statement announcing plans to launch investigations to stop private companies from violating sanctions. 

The statement went on to stress that “neither the Kyrgyz state itself, nor any state structures and companies are involved in the violation of the regime of compliance with the........

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