Estonian Prime Minister accused local companies of behind-the-scenes deals with Russia

Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas accused local businesses of hypocrisy: speaking of a commitment to a common course, they secretly seek to make profitable deals with Moscow, helping it to circumvent sanctions Kaya Callas

Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas admitted that she has to "beg" local companies to find a "moral compass" and refuse deals that could give Moscow access to sanctioned goods, according to the Financial Times.

In an interview with the publication, she said that lucrative trade with RUSSIA, bypassing Western sanctions, attracts companies in the Baltic countries, despite the "hawkish position" of the political leadership of these countries in relation to the events in Ukraine . This is how she commented on the information that a disproportionate amount of sanctioned goods worth $1 billion passed through the Baltic countries.

The Estonian leader accused local companies of hypocrisy, saying to them: "You talk very loudly about Ukraine, Russia and security, but behind the scenes you support [Moscow]."

The publication notes that in Estonia, like its Baltic neighbors, there is an increase in exports to Kazakhstan , Kyrgyzstan and Armenia in transit through Russia. Many of these goods do not arrive at their destination, raising suspicion that this is a scheme used to circumvent Western sanctions.

Estonian exports to these two Central Asian countries and Armenia rose from $3 million a month before the start of the special operation to $13 million in October 2022.

Kallas explained that she spoke with the President of Armenia, and her Lithuanian counterpart talked with the President of Georgia. “They do not see [an increase in the supply of goods from the Baltic countries]. It doesn't reach them. That's the problem," Kallas said.

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“The easiest thing would be to ban all transit of certain goods through Russia. That would be the easiest thing for our customs,” Kallas said.

The HEAD of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, said on May 15 that the EU countries are discussing a ban on the transit of goods from the EU through Russia to third countries .

She said the EU has seen a “huge surge” in trade in European goods with some countries, with “there is a discrepancy” between how much goods are purchased in the EU, pass through Russia and then end up in a third country. Von der Leyen said that the transit ban is being discussed, there are several points of view on this issue.

The head of the EC recalled that there is already a ban on the transit through Russia of weapons, dual-use goods and some others. If the EU has evidence that any country buys and then supplies such sanctioned goods to Russia, then an EXPORT ban could be imposed on it , von der Leyen explained.

The discussion of such measures was previously reported by dpa and EUobserver. Von der Leyen has already noted that as part of the 11th package of sanctions against Russia, the current restrictive measures will be “honed” and the list of prohibited goods will be expanded, including by introducing advanced technologies and aircraft parts into it.