Russian companies are turning to neighboring Kazakhstan for help importing badly needed goods to circumvent Western sanctions.
Recently, there has been an increase in the number of Russian requests for assistance in transporting various goods from bearings and aircraft parts to rare earth metals across the land border of Kazakhstan with Russia, which is 7,591 km, which is 7,591 km.
Russia’s heightened interest is related to reports of Turkey’s plans to tighten control over the transit of sanctioned goods, Reuters reports.
In recent weeks, Russian companies have inundated their Kazakh partners with new requests to help them circumvent Western sanctions and import needed goods.
Seven agency sources said they are seeing an increase in requests for help shipping everything from bearings and aircraft parts to rare earth metals.
Two sources directly linked Russia’s heightened interest to reports of Turkey’s plans to combat the transit of sanctioned goods.
That means the boom is just beginning,” said one foreign trade businessman.
Another Kazakh entrepreneur said that he was offered $1 million. for helping transport a truck load of rare earths from Australia.
The Russians have a long list of needs, according to agency sources, including industrial equipment, railway bearings, advanced electronics, radio equipment, turbines, aircraft parts, raw materials and materials for bank cards.
Some Russian companies want to forge long-term partnerships to circumvent sanctions, the sources said.
Compliance with Western sanctions is an offense under Russian law, and sanctions violations have become a lucrative industry for some entrepreneurs, Reuters notes.
I go into the office of a European company and ask about certain equipment, they say they can’t sell it because it might end up in Russia,” said a Kazakh businessman who sells industrial equipment. — When I go out, I get a call from a Turkish company offering the same equipment.
At the same time, Turkish authorities said in February that the country does not export goods that can be used in Russian military operations, and will not allow violations of Western sanctions in Turkey or because of it, the agency recalls.
Russia remains the largest trading partner of Kazakhstan. Kazakhstan’s exports to Russia last year grew by a quarter to $8.8 billion.
In January 2023, the BBC Russian service claimed that the fact that many Russians have not yet felt the effect of the sanctions was made possible thanks to parallel imports, and sometimes simply smuggling through neighboring countries.
Source: Racurs
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