We walked together, we hung together. Facilitating the circumvention of sanctions as complicity in the crime of Russian aggression

Exclusive. A tribunal awaits Putin and his accomplices

Illustrative photo

On October 24, during a meeting in Luxembourg of the heads of foreign affairs of the EU and Central Asia, the parties agreed to continue to cooperate in order to avoid the circumvention of international sanctions against the Russian Federation. IN joint statement It is said that representatives of the European Union informed the heads of foreign affairs of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan about the 11 packages of sanctions against Russia and emphasized "the importance of result-oriented dialogue and cooperation in the context of EU sanctions regimes."

In particular, a week earlier, Kazakhstan introduced a ban on the export of 106 goods to Russia, including chips and other electronics that can be used for military purposes. The Kazakhstani authorities announced the cessation of supplies of military goods to the Russian Federation in May 2022, but the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the country admitted that some private companies continue to re-export prohibited goods, which eventually end up in the war zone in Ukraine.

In May "Important Stories" together with the Center for Corruption and Organized Crime Research (OCCRP) and the German magazine Der Spiegel told, how Russia receives chips and drones through Kazakhstan. The largest technology companies refused direct supplies to the aggressor country, but they cannot control the distributors. Therefore, as a rule, it is perfectly legal to sell goods to China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Armenia or another "friendly" country of Russia. And from there he will be sent to Russia and will go, including to defense enterprises and the army.

The EU introduced 11 packages of sanctions to limit Russia's ability to continue its aggression against Ukraine. Effective restrictions contribute to the return of Moscow's behavior to the framework of international law, in which the countries of Central Asia are also interested.

Putin considers the collapse of the Soviet Union the greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the 2005th century. "First of all, it must be recognized, and I spoke about this before, that the collapse of the Soviet Union was the greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the century. And for the Russian people it became a real drama. Tens of millions of our citizens and compatriots ended up outside the Russian Federation," for example, Putin said in XNUMX. "International support in securing the rights of Russian compatriots abroad remains the most important issue for us, and this is not the subject of political or diplomatic negotiations," he noted.

The dictator claims not only "Russian compatriots abroad", but also on the territory. "The question arises: if this or that republic entered the Soviet Union, but received a huge amount of Russian land in its baggage, and then decided to leave the structure? But then I would have gone out at least if I had come with something and not dragged with me gifts from the Russian people," Putin said in 2020.

If he is talking about the same Kazakhstan, for example, then, according to Russia, it "simply did not exist." During one of the episodes of the "Big Game" program on the federal "First Channel" in 2020, dedicated to the anniversary of the signing of the Belovezhsky Agreement, Russian State Duma deputy Vyacheslav Nikonov discussed which of the former Soviet republics and countries in the zone of influence of the USSR appeared thanks to Russia. "Kazakhstan simply did not exist. Northern Kazakhstan was not inhabited at all. They (Kazakhs - ed. note) existed, but they existed much further south of Kazakhstan. This is a big gift from Russia and the Soviet Union," Molotov's grandson said in particular.

Putin considers Ukraine and the rest of the post-Soviet countries as a zone of his influence and apparently "dreams" of the revival of the USSR, US Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland said at the Senate hearings in December 2021. "There are fears that he, as a project of his heritage, is actually trying to recreate the Soviet Union. And then, who knows whether his appetite will be satisfied by what he has eaten, or whether he will decide to go further? she said.

In September, Russian State Duma deputy Yevgeny Fedorov said that Russia "will have to fight" with all the former republics of the USSR. "All former republics will sooner or later conflict or fight with Russia. This is a question of theory. Some of them will not be present: Belarus. Georgia has already fought, Ukraine. This fully applies to Armenia as well," he said. Military conflicts can be avoided if the republics are returned through diplomatic channels. Where, in his opinion, the former post-Soviet countries should be returned, the deputy did not specify - it is assumed that he is talking about the USSR.

Sanctions prevent the implementation of the dictator's criminal plans, so Russia is building the logistics of bypassing third countries. The sharp increase in trade turnover of Central Asia after the start of the sanctions regime against the Russian Federation causes concern and gives reason to believe that this route is being used to circumvent restrictions. Only according to official data, the trade turnover of Russia and the countries of Central Asia at the end of last year compared to the previous year increased by 15% and amounted to more than $42 billion.

Facilitating the circumvention of sanctions is complicity in the crime of Russian aggression. Russia will be held responsible for the crime of aggression against Ukraine, along with everyone who helped it. In addition, in relation to accomplices of aggression, secondary sanctions should be introduced, which neutralize the benefits of sabotaging international efforts to end the war in Ukraine.

The crime of aggression has already begun to be investigated in The Hague at the International Center for Prosecution of Crimes of Aggression against Ukraine (ICPA), which opened on July 3. This is a unique precedent in history, since the international investigation does not begin after the end of the war, as after the Second World War, but directly during it. ICPA will collect evidence in a single database and coordinate the exchange of information between countries where national investigations of the crime of aggression against Ukraine are underway. Prosecutors, together with the best international experts, will develop a general strategy for how to build this case and prepare projects for the future tribunal. They are discussing an international tribunal, which will be implemented on the basis of the mandate of the UN General Assembly, or a mixed-type tribunal, that is, with international elements, but based on the jurisdiction of Ukraine.

In this regard, two quotes from the finale of the history of the Third Reich in 1945 are recalled. When Goebbels melancholicly "encouraged" his comrades: "We went together, we hung together," Hitler declared: "If I am destined to perish, then let the German people also perish, because they proved unworthy of me." Putin, of course, does not mind that not only the Russian Federation, but also other post-Soviet republics perish with him.

The willingness of Central Asian countries to cooperate with the EU to prevent the circumvention of sanctions is an important positive signal. It demonstrates a mature and responsible approach to its international obligations.

Vera Perovskaya