Kyrgyzstan is prepared to take the European Union to court if Brussels imposes sanctions on the Central Asian state over allegations it has helped funnel restricted goods to Russia, according to new report by the Financial Times. 

The European Commission has proposed imposing export controls on Kyrgyzstan barring certain items that could have military uses, amid claims that Kyrgyz companies have been re-exporting them to Russia in breach of EU restrictions, according to documents seen by the FT. The documents describe the goods as “dual-use” items, including machine tools and electronics used in weapons and drones.

Daniyar Amangeldiev, first deputy chair of Kyrgyzstan’s cabinet, told the newspaper that the government is working hard to comply with Western sanctions but argued Brussels has not spelled out what Bishkek must do to demonstrate compliance and avoid punitive measures.

“This decision will have consequences for our image. If such a decision is made, we will be ready to challenge it in court,” Amangeldiev told the FT, adding that Kyrgyzstan has “evidence that we took action” while Brussels “did not propose appropriate mechanisms for us to comply with.” 

If adopted, the ban would mark the EU’s first use of its anti-circumvention powers to impose secondary sanctions at a country level, the FT reported. The documents cited by the newspaper say Kyrgyz imports of “high-priority” items from the EU have risen almost 800% since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, while Kyrgyz exports to Russia are 1,200 percent higher, indicating “a continuing and particularly high risk of circumvention.”

Various media reports have previously tied the nation to the re-export of automobiles and other goods to Russia since the launch of Moscow’s war on Kyiv. 

Last year, an investigation by OCCRP and its partner Forbidden Stories found that Kyrgyzstan’s imports of vehicles from the EU increased more than 80-fold over 2022 and 2023 compared to the two years proceeding that period. The jump doesn’t reflect growing internal demand but rather that Kyrgyzstan “became a hub for vehicles heading to Russia,” an economist told the news outlets at the time. 

The nation is also home to A7A5, the ruble-pegged stablecoin used by Russians to bypass banking restrictions while technically complying with Kyrgyz anti-money-laundering and sanctions laws. The companies behind the stablecoin, including the Russian state-owned bank Promsvyazbank, have been subject to U.S. sanctions and accused of a related scheme that employs fake banknotes as a kind of bearer bond that can be redeemed for A7A5 funds or cash.

As of mid-2025, A7A5 had been used to transfer an aggregate of $41.2 billion, Elliptic said last year.

EU officials told the FT that. while Bishkek has repeatedly assured them sanctions controls have been tightened, enforcement remains inadequate. The EU’s sanctions envoy, David O’Sullivan, has been in talks with Kyrgyz officials for months, and on a visit to Bishkek he said the bloc was not seeking to end Kyrgyz trade with Russia, but rather to prevent “deliberate circumvention” of EU sanctions, according to the FT.

The new export controls on Kyrgyzstan would come as part of the EU’s 20th Russia sanctions package, currently in limbo while Hungary blocks a vote on the restrictions.

Read more at the Financial Times