Authorities in Kazakhstan will require exporters to submit additional documents when sending goods to Russia, following reports that Russian companies used local intermediaries to circumvent Western sanctions, Reuters reported, citing BTA.

Russia is Kazakhstan's main trading partner, and after the West banned the sale of many goods to Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine, some Kazakh firms began buying such items and reselling them to Russian firms.

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But the government in Astana has vowed to maintain the sanctions and its officials have indicated that the new rules, which take effect on April 1 and apply to exports within the Russian-led Eurasian Economic Union, will limit the gray area in trade.

Kazakhstan's exports to Russia jumped by a quarter last year, and Kazakh businesses say Turkey's move to crack down on Russian "parallel imports" has sparked a new wave of inquiries from Russians looking for goods they cannot buy directly.

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