Kyrgyzstan Blasts UK ‘Hypocrisy’ Over Russia Sanctions at UN

Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov has used the stage of the UN General Assembly in New York to issue a stern demand for the United Kingdom to lift sanctions imposed on Kyrgyz banks for their cooperation with Russia. Japarov condemned London’s actions as unacceptable interference in his country’s internal affairs and a deliberate attempt to pressure its emerging economy, vowing to continue close economic ties with Moscow regardless.

“We regard these unfounded sanctions as interference in our internal affairs and as pressure hindering the development of our still-nascent economy,” Japarov declared from the UN podium. He argued that the sanctions, based on what he called false information from certain NGOs, were unfairly damaging Kyrgyzstan. In a show of transparency, Japarov offered to welcome independent international audits to scrutinize the activities of the country’s financial institutions.

The Kyrgyz leader pointedly highlighted what he sees as Western hypocrisy, noting that while the UK sanctions his nation, it maintains its own significant trade with Russia. He cited figures showing that the UK’s trade with Russia amounted to $2.2 billion, while the EU’s total trade reached $141 billion in 2024. “Frankly speaking, some reserve the right to cooperate with Russia to protect their own interests, but forbid others from doing so,” Japarov stated, adding, “You demand that we do not cooperate with Russia, yet you actively develop trade and economic ties with it. We have far more economic ties with Russia than you do. Therefore, we cannot afford to abandon cooperation with Russia.”

This confrontation comes at a time of seemingly warming relations. The UK has been actively courting Central Asia, launching a new regional strategy in 2023 and signing a cooperation program with Kyrgyzstan for 2024-2026. Just months ago, UK Export Finance offered £1.8 billion (approximately $2.3 billion) for projects in Kyrgyzstan, with a focus on the crucial mining and raw materials sectors. This dual approach has led to skepticism among regional experts.

Igor Shestakov, director of the ‘Oy Ordo’ expert initiative center, questioned whether London and other Western powers could be considered reliable partners. “On one hand, the British are drawing up a roadmap for the extraction of rare-earth metals and acting as investors, and on the other, they are imposing unsubstantiated secondary sanctions,” he said. Shestakov warned of a new form of neocolonialism, where Central Asia risks becoming merely a raw material supplier for Western industries, echoing the unequal trade patterns of past empires.

This fear is amplified by concerns over the region’s vast mineral wealth. Experts warn that without robust state oversight, Kyrgyzstan could lose control of its strategic deposits, repeating the experience of the Kumtor gold mine or the fate of resource-rich African nations. Arkady Rogalsky, an advisor to Kyrgyzstan’s Ministry of Natural Resources, criticized the government for overlooking local expertise in favor of foreign firms. Adding to the geopolitical unease, analyst Kanatbek Aziz pointed to the stated goals of the incoming US ambassador to Kazakhstan: to redirect the country’s mineral resources towards the US and pivot it away from Russia and China, a strategy seen as having implications for the entire Central Asian region.