That’s why Kazakhstan suddenly buys so many washing machines Roche gets US approval for cancer drug

Kazakhstan is apparently currently importing massively more washing machines than before: “In 2022 alone, the country imported 4.4 times more appliances from the EU than in the previous year,” reports ZDF. But what is it all about? Why does the Central Asian country need so many washing machines?

Kazakhstan is a direct neighbor of Russia. It therefore stands to reason that Kazakhstan will not simply do more washes or break more appliances, but that the country will resell the appliances to the north – thereby circumventing EU sanctions against Russia.

For the former German ambassador in Moscow, Rüdiger von Fritsch, the matter is clear: the devices had reached Russia, where they would be dismantled, he now told the broadcaster. Because the Russian arms industry needs the semiconductors built into it right now.

One thing is certain: it is precisely these materials that are scarce, both in the Russian military industry and in the IT sector. Before the beginning of the offensive war in Ukraine, these mostly came from large Western companies. The Russian economy does not produce them itself and cannot start production of comparable quality in the short term.

Von Fritsch proves his assumption by saying that Kazakhstan exported $12,000 worth of semiconductors to Russia in the year before the war. In 2022, it was $3.7 million. At the same time, imports of washing machines from the EU increased by 436 percent.

Fridges and freezers from Germany also increased sharply: imports increased by 551 percent, ZDF reports.

Close cooperation

The Kazakh ambassador responded clearly to ZDF: Kazakhstan complies with sanctions against Russia, Nurlan Onschanov said. He put the figures into perspective: in the war year 2022, Kazakhstan imported almost 10,000 washing machines from the EU in absolute terms. That accounts for less than one percent of the Kazakh market. Nevertheless, he wants to have the figures analyzed with the European partners. It is clear, he said, that Kazakhstan, as a member of the Eurasian Economic Union, has a close economic relationship with Russia.

According to Germany, Kazakhstan ranks 53rd among the most important trading partners. According to the website of the embassy in Germany, the country is the most important partner in the Central Asian region. The bilateral trade volume in 2020 amounted to 80 percent of the total volume of foreign trade between Germany and the Central Asian countries.

Possible circumventions of sanctions since the Russian invasion of Ukraine are no longer a secret and are also known to the federal government. “There are a number of ways to circumvent the sanctions,” admitted Economic Affairs Minister Robert Habeck (Greens) in early March.

Because the problem is: Germany and other EU countries continue to supply products to countries that are not directly involved in the war, but do business with belligerent Russia and some of which do not support sanctions against Russia, such as Armenia or China. The German government must watch – and can only appeal to partner countries.

Sources

Other interesting articles:

(t-online/dsc)