Kazakhstan has decided to change its approach to compliance with sanctions against Russia, announcing that the country will now primarily protect its own economic interests, while strengthening trade ties with countries such as Iran and China. Kazakhstan’s Minister of Trade and Integration Serik Zhumangarin said this in an interview, according to Komersant ukrainskyi
with reference to Bloomberg.
The official noted that Kazakhstan “will not blindly comply with sanctions” if they harm domestic companies that are the main employers in their regions.
“We will not allow trade bans to be imposed on our producers,” Zhumangarin said,
– Zhumangarin said.
This change in rhetoric reflects the efforts of Kazakhstan, the world’s largest landlocked country, to secure access to global markets for its exports, such as raw materials and agricultural products. However, growing challenges in the form of sanctions against neighbouring Russia and Iran are creating additional pressure, especially from the West, which accuses Kazakhstan of facilitating the supply of banned goods.
For example, according to Zhumangarin, Kazakhstan did not join the ban on the sale of ball bearings, which have a dual military and civilian use, because a local factory produces them according to specifications that are traditionally used only in Eastern Europe and former Soviet countries. Western governments say that ball bearings are among the so-called “high priority” military goods needed by the Russian defence industry.
Another example, already negative for Kazakhstan, is Eurasian Resources Group, a 40% state-owned company that is suffering huge losses after sanctions blocked its sales of iron ore pellets to Russia. Meanwhile, the company’s former largest client in Russia has successfully switched to domestic suppliers.
Despite Kazakhstan’s opposition to the sanctions imposed by the US over Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, officials have not previously publicly criticised the restrictions.
Zhumangarin also hinted that there may be exceptions to the sanctions, but stressed that Kazakhstan will continue to follow the rules as the country “will not stand” the possible consequences of the sanctions. He added that the companies on the US Treasury Department’s sanctions list are in the process of being closed.
The change in trade flows around Kazakhstan has largely benefited China. It is now Kazakhstan’s largest trading partner, accounting for more than a fifth of the total. In the first half of this year, the European Union accounted for 36% of trade overall, and Russia accounted for 18% of the country’s total trade, down almost one and a half percent from 2022.