Kazakhstan Refuses to Help Russia Bypass International Sanctions, Kazakh Official Says

Kazakhstan opposes Russia's use of its territory to circumvent international sanctions.

Deputy Head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan, Roman Vasilenko, said this in an interview with the Polish PAP agency.

“Kazakhstan has not imposed sanctions on Russia and Kazakhstan has not joined the sanctions against Russia. At the same time, we do not want our territory to be used to circumvent sanctions. Our position is known and understood by all those interested in this situation, both the West and Russia. We are in dialogue with the EU on issues related to sanctions,” said Vasilenko.

He added that Kazakhstan is taking proactive measures to prevent the circumvention of sanctions, as they wish to avoid their companies being subjected to secondary sanctions.

Earlier, Deputy Prime Minister of Kazakhstan Serik Zhumangarin said that Astana does not support anti-Russian sanctions, but complies with them "because it is beneficial from an economic point of view." He explained that Kazakhstan has a small economy and would not withstand the pressure of sanctions.