German foreign minister slams Central Asian countries for supporting Russia's war
Photo: German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul (Vitalii Nosach, RBC-Ukraine)
Central Asian countries must back the European Union in enforcing sanctions against Russia and stand with the EU in supporting Ukraine, stated German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul, according to ntv.
Ahead of a meeting with the foreign ministers of Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and Kazakhstan, Wadephul said that the Central Asian states must unequivocally stand with the EU.
The minister reminded that the EU has imposed extensive sanctions on Russia to curb its military operations. However, Central Asian countries have allowed Russia to bypass European restrictions.
"Today I want to make it absolutely clear: attempts to circumvent these sanctions support Russia’s aggressive war and directly threaten the security interests of the European Union," he said.
Meanwhile, on February 6, it became known that the European Commission has prepared its 20th sanctions package against Russia, which could be approved by the fourth anniversary of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Among other measures, the European Commission proposed a full ban on any cryptocurrency operations linked to Russia, aiming to cut off Moscow’s ways of evading sanctions.
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas stated that the 20th sanctions package against Russia is expected to be adopted on February 24.
