Russia may try to persuade countries that are members of the Eurasian Economic Cooperation (EAEC) to help with schemes to circumvent Western sanctions, consider analysts of the American Institute for the Study of War (ISW).
“(Russian President Volodymyr) Putin has called for more new joint ventures under the common “made in EAEU” brand, a move likely aimed at rebranding Russian products as EAEU products to avoid Western export sanctions. Both (de facto Belarusian ruler Oleksandr) Lukashenko and (Kazakhstan President Kassym-Zhomart) Tokayev separately called for the creation of a full-fledged economic union with a functioning common market, and Lukashenko claimed that representatives of the EAEU are discussing the creation of a common market for gas, oil and petroleum products,” it reads. in the message.
Experts suggest that Belarus and Kazakhstan are already actively involved in helping Russia evade sanctions, and the Kremlin seeks to expand and formalize these relations with a wider number of EAEU members.
After the occupation of Ukrainian Crimea and the start of hostilities in Donbas, and even more so after the full-scale invasion in February 2022, Western countries introduced numerous sanctions packages designed to limit Russia’s ability to finance the war. Despite this, Moscow continues to look for and sometimes finds ways to obtain sanctioned products and bring its own products to world markets.