The Latvian Prime Minister noted the increase in trade between Europe and these three countries, which, he said, was “disproportionate to what was in the past.”

Traders use Turkey, Kazakhstan and Armenia to evade European Union sanctions against Russia. This tactic violates these countries’ compliance with the EU embargo.

Latvian Prime Minister Krišjanis Karinš made the announcement on Friday after talks with his counterparts from Estonia and Lithuania, which along with Latvia have been among the most vocal supporters of sanctions against Russia following its 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Reuters writes about it.

“It seems quite clear that traders are finding ways to legally trade goods with, say, Turkey, Kazakhstan or Armenia, which then end up in Russia because those countries do not comply with the sanctions regime,” Karinsh said.

The Latvian Prime Minister noted the increase in trade between Europe and these three countries, which, he said, was “disproportionate to what was in the past.”

“One (solution) is to work with these countries to get them on board with enforcing the sanctions. The second is to look at legislation in Europe to make sure we criminalize sanctions evasion. Close the loopholes!” Karinsh said.

After talks with the heads of government of Latvia and Lithuania, Estonian Prime Minister Kaia Kallas said a “total trade ban” with Russia should be considered to help avoid sanctions.

Circumvention of sanctions against the Russian Federation – what is known

As reported, Turkey and the UAE continue to conduct economic relations with the Russian Federation, despite its invasion of Ukraine. Because of this, the US has informed the United Arab Emirates and Turkey that their economic and financial ties with Russia are hindering efforts to contain Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. The USA said that tens of millions of dollars worth of goods are coming to Russia and can be used by the aggressor to continue the war in Ukraine.

According to the WSJ, despite sanctions and violating US export controls, Turkish companies exported electronics, spare parts and other American-made goods to Russia. Some of them are necessary for the provision of the armed forces of the Russian Federation.

In December, it became known that, despite the imposed sanctions, microchips made by Western companies continue to be supplied to Russia. Thus, intermediary firms in Turkey and Hong Kong were created to sell microchips to Russia. Through companies registered in March 2022, $777 million worth of chips were supplied to the Russian Federation. These are parts manufactured by Intel, AMD, Texas Instruments, Analog Devices and Infineon.

Earlier, EUobserver wrote that Western sanctions against the Russian Federation blunted its ability to finance the war. However, China and Turkey are helping the Russian Federation to circumvent the imposed restrictions. Kazakhstan is also helping Moscow, and EU exports to Kyrgyzstan for the period from September 5 to 18, 2022 showed an almost fourfold increase compared to the pre-war period.

The Kremlin is trying to partially cover the deficit and circumvent sanctions with the help of “parallel import” of computers, smartphones, household electronics, auto parts and other goods without the permission of the right holders.

In September 2022, the US and the EU increased pressure on Turkey because the Russian Mir payment system was still connected to Turkish banks. The EU feared that Turkey’s banking sector was a loophole that would allow Russia to bypass sanctions.