Astana, Mar 17 (EFE).- The European Union (EU) sees no obstacle to Kazakhstan’s oil exports despite concerns that Russia could use the Central Asian republic as an intermediary, EU Special Envoy for Sanctions David O’Sullivan said Tuesday.
“There are no sanctions (from the EU) on Kazakh oil. Kazakh crude is perfectly free to be exported in whatever way to Europe. In fact, we welcome it,” he said at a press conference.
O’Sullivan added that “we have no obstacle to the export of Kazakh oil to Europe.”
On his fifth visit to Astana, he said he is in constant dialogue with Kazakh authorities regarding the possibility of sanctions evasion, “particularly those goods which risk finding themselves as part of the Russian weapons and missiles.”
The diplomat emphasized that the EU has never required Kazakhstan to impose sanctions on Russia, as it respects the country’s sovereignty.
“What we have asked, respectfully, is that Kazakhstan not allow itself to be used as a platform for circumventing or diversion of sanctioned goods. And on this, we have a good dialogue, and we have seen some successful results, particularly as regards the battlefield products, which go directly into weapons, which kill innocent Ukrainian civilians,” he said.
He also noted that the Central Asian republic supplies up to 12% of the European bloc’s energy needs.
The envoy added that a new package of economic sanctions against Russia over the war in Ukraine, which began in 2022, will be introduced soon and will not include any mention of Kazakhstan.
“We are always vigilant, and we keep a close watch on the activities of banks all over the world, where sanctions or conventions might be involved, but we have no imminent plans regarding Kazakhstan, ” he said, referring to sanctions on potential financial transactions. EFE