Telegraph learned about EU plans to threaten Russia's neighbors with sanctions

The EU notes a sharp increase in the supply of goods to Central Asian countries, writes The Telegraph. According to the newspaper, Brussels intends to first warn these states about the consequences, then they can impose sanctions.

The European Union may impose trade sanctions on countries that, according to Brussels, are helping RUSSIA to circumvent the restrictions imposed against it, writes The Telegraph, citing an EU document.

European capitals are discussing plans to impose trade sanctions on countries that help Moscow evade punitive measures.

The newspaper notes that EU officials drew attention to the growth in exports to Central Asian countries of goods such as washing machines and used cars. At first, these states want to warn about the consequences, but trade restrictions may follow later, the article says.

EU measures may affect not only the countries of Central Asia, but also any other, notes The Telegraph.

After the start of the Russian military operation in Ukraine, the US and the EU imposed several packages of sanctions against Moscow, including on hundreds of goods shipped from the West. However, already at the end of last March, the Russian authorities legalized parallel imports - the importation of goods into the country without the consent of the trademark owner. At the same time, imports of such goods from countries neighboring Russia increased by hundreds of percent. By the end of December, 2.4 million tons of goods worth over $20 billion had been imported into the country under this mechanism.

The countries from which the supply of goods on parallel imports grew the most were Kazakhstan and Turkey. Nevertheless, already in early March, Ankara stopped the transit of goods to Russia that fell under EU sanctions. FT, citing high-ranking Kazakh officials, also reported that the country will launch a system for recording imported and exported products from April, which, according to the publication, will allow tracking all movements of goods, preventing circumvention of sanctions against Russia.

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After the introduction of Turkish restrictions, Russian companies “filled up” with requests from their partners from Kazakhstan to help circumvent international sanctions, REUTERS reported, citing seven sources.

The Russian authorities call Western sanctions ineffective, harming to a greater extent the initiators of the restrictions themselves and demand their lifting. President Vladimir Putin insists that the restrictive measures are "crazy and thoughtless."