UK government comments on investigation into Russia's export of sanctioned goods

During a speech in the House of Commons on 22 February, Grant Shapps, UK Secretary of State for Defence, commented on a Sky News investigation into how Russia circumvents sanctions and imports UK-produced dual-use goods through neighbouring countries.

Source: European Pravda with reference to SkyNews

Details: Shapps called Sky News editor Ed Conway's article on Russian re-export schemes "excellent".

"It is the case that when you set up sanctions initially they tend to work, but they'll [sanctioned goods – ed.] eventually work their way and find another route to market," he added.

Shapps acknowledged that evading sanctions is an "international problem" and stated that the UK government "will be taking a very close look".

According to the Sky News investigation, the UK components worth hundreds of millions of pounds continue to enter Russia via South Caucasus and Central Asian countries, specifically Kyrgyzstan, Armenia, and Uzbekistan.

This is not the first evidence of such exports. It was previously reported that the UK companies exported critical components, particularly semiconductors and drones worth more than US$100 million to Russia over the course of ten months last year.

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