Germany wants trade with Kazakhstan, won’t circumvent Russia sanctions, Scholz says

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ASTANA (Reuters) -Germany is interested in expanding trade with Kazakhstan while also ensuring such trade is not used to circumvent EU sanctions on Russia, Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on a visit to the Central Asian nation.

“I am grateful for the trusting dialogue between us, through which we want to prevent trade between us from being misused to circumvent sanctions,” Scholz said.

After Russian forces invaded Ukraine in February 2022, the West imposed sweeping sanctions on Russia, prompting Moscow to seek circuitous routes for importing technology and goods.

Sources have told Reuters that Russian businesses seeking goods banned by the West sometimes procured them from companies based in neighbouring Kazakhstan or other former Soviet nations. The Astana government has said it would abide by the sanctions.

Both Scholz and Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said their countries were interested in increasing trade in oil, rare earths, lithium and other raw materials.

“Both sides benefit from this exchange because it allows us to diversify our economies and make them more resilient,” Scholz said. “A very concrete example of this is the oil supplies from Kazakhstan, which helped us a lot after Russia failed as a supplier.”

The two met ahead of a broader meeting between Scholz and all five Central Asian leaders, an example of more active Western diplomacy in what has traditionally been Russia’s backyard.

Kazakhstan has already stepped in to replace Russia as the supplier of crude for Berlin’s Schwedt refinery. Scholz’s visit comes after Russian President Vladimir Putin threatened to curb sales of metals such as titanium to “unfriendly” nations.

(Reporting by Andreas RinkeWriting by Olzhas Auyezov and Rachel MoreEditing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise and Ros Russell)