ASTANA – European Union (EU) Sanctions Envoy David O’Sullivan commended the work with the Kazakh authorities on preventing circumvention of Western sanctions on Russia and expressed general optimism about the EU’s evolving partnership with Kazakhstan at a Jan. 30 press briefing in Astana.
David O’Sullivan took up his role as the EU Sanctions Envoy in January 2023. Photo credit: Assel Satubaldina / The Astana Times
O’Sullivan stressed that his “particular responsibility” is EU sanctions against Russia.
“My visit is part of an ongoing dialogue which we have with the Kazakh authorities about this issue,” said O’Sullivan, who was on his fourth visit to Kazakhstan.
In Astana, he met with Deputy Prime Minister – Minister of National Economy Serik Zhumangarin, Deputy Foreign Minister Roman Vassilenko, and other officials.
“Generally, we are very happy with the nature of the conversations we have been having,” said O’Sullivan.
According to him, the EU “fully respects Kazakhstan’s decision not to align with the sanctions.”
“And we are not asking Kazakhstan to adopt our sanctions,” he said. “We have no desire to interfere with legitimate trade between Kazakhstan and Russia, which has been going on for a long time and which will continue.”
The EU, however, has some concerns that “unscrupulous actors may seek to use Kazakhstan as a platform for the evasion of the sanctions and the resale of the European Union-sanctioned goods from Kazakhstan.”
“In particular, [they are] those advanced technology goods that regularly find themselves in Russian weaponry. (…) This is where we have asked for and received some very useful cooperation with the Kazakh authorities,” he explained.
The list, referred to as the list of Common High Priority items, also known as dual-use goods and advanced technology items, comprises 50 categories of items identified in Russian weaponry found on the battlefield in Ukraine.
“We have already seen a considerable reduction in the circumvention of these products through Kazakhstan, and I am confident that with the good cooperation we have, we will be able to address any further issues in that area,” said O’Sullivan.
“These conversations will continue, and I may find myself coming back, but always in the context of good cooperation,” he added.
To date, the EU has adopted 15 packages of sanctions, each designed to undermine Russia’s economic base. Brussels is now working on its 16th package, O’Sullivan added.
‘Busy year’ for bilateral ties
O’Sullivan, whose previous visit took place in June 2024, signaled that 2025 will be a “busy year” for bilateral relations, referring to an ambitious agenda and deeper cooperation between the two nations.
“I want to emphasize that Kazakhstan is a very important partner for the European Union. We are an important partner for Kazakhstan. Trade between us represents around 40 billion euros (US$41.7 billion) annually. We are your largest trading partner, representing nearly 38% of your exports. We are also the largest provider of foreign direct investment in Kazakhstan – around 54-55 billion euros ($56.2-$57.3 billion) of total stock,” said O’Sullivan.
He also noted progress in the Enhanced Partnership and Cooperation Agreement, which entered into force in March 2020 and covers 29 areas of cooperation.
“We will have a number of important high-level meetings this year. We will have a [EU-Central Asia] ministerial meeting in Ashgabat in March, and we will have the EU – Central Asia Summit in Samarkand in April. So, I think this is going to be a very busy year,” said the European official.
