Astana, Jun 18 (EFE).- The European Union’s (EU) Special Envoy for Sanctions, David O’Sullivan, highlighted on Tuesday Kazakhstan’s progress in complying with sanctions adopted by the 27-member bloc against Russia over its war in Ukraine.
“We have made significant progress on this matter,” O’Sullivan told a press conference following his third visit to Kazakhstan, during which he discussed with Kazakh officials the evasion and circumvention of sanctions on Russia.
He noted that since April last year, the EU has seen a “significant decrease” in the import and re-export figures of certain goods through Kazakhstan.
“There is progress,” emphasized the Irish diplomat, reminding that the EU had asked Kazakh authorities to focus on a small portion of sanctioned goods.
He explained that this involves a list of 50 items, known as “high-priority goods.”
“I prefer to call them ‘artifacts found on the battlefield‘ by our Ukrainian colleagues in combat zones with Russian troops,” said O’Sullivan.
He added that, despite being a small range of goods, they “have great value for the military.”
Overall, he noted that the European Commission is satisfied with the current level of cooperation and interaction with Kazakhstan.
“Of course, there will always be challenges and problems, but we are ready to discuss them and find solutions,” added the European envoy.
He stressed that the sanctions on Russia “are not a tool to stop the war,” but rather a show of support from EU countries for Ukraine.
“The war will only end if (Russian President Vladimir) Putin withdraws his troops from the occupied territories of Ukraine,” he emphasized.
In December 2022, the European Commission appointed O’Sullivan as the international special envoy for the implementation of EU sanctions.
His mission is to maintain permanent and high-level contacts with third countries to prevent the evasion or circumvention of the unprecedented restrictive measures imposed on Russia since the beginning of its war against Ukraine. EFE