(Astana) Kazakhstan, suspected of helping its Russian ally to circumvent Western sanctions imposed after the invasion of Ukraine, has denied having banned exports of products under sanctions to Russia, after declarations to this effect.

“There is no ban on exporting goods to the Russian Federation within the framework of anti-Russian sanctions,” the Ministry of Commerce of Central Asia’s largest economy said in a statement Thursday evening.

Earlier in the day, the Deputy Minister of Commerce, quoted by the official Kazakh news agency Kazinform, assured that Kazakhstan had stopped shipping to Russian territory 106 “products prohibited for export to Russia”, among which “drones, their electronic components, special equipment and chips”.

The Commerce Ministry called the claims “incorrect.”

“At the same time, trade in so-called “dual-use” goods (usable for military purposes), the export of which is subject to control, is carried out in accordance with Kazakhstan’s international obligations,” the statement continues, without further clarification. details.

After the Russian invasion of Ukraine, many former Soviet republics, including Kazakhstan, but also Turkey, China and the United Arab Emirates, are suspected of importing, particularly from Europe, material under embargo that They export to Russia.

In recent months, several Western representatives and diplomats have visited Central Asia and raised the threat of secondary sanctions, while recognizing the delicate position of these countries vis-à-vis Moscow.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine forced the five former Soviet republics of Central Asia (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan), members of various alliances with Moscow, to find a balanced position.

At the end of September, the leaders of Central Asian states promised to make “additional efforts to prevent the circumvention of sanctions” during a meeting in Berlin with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.