Officials from the European Union said that the United Arab Emirates has agreed to begin restricting the export of sensitive materials with potential military use to Russia, Bloomberg reported on Nov. 9, citing unnamed sources.
The move would cover re-export as well. According to Bloomberg's sources, Turkey is also considering implementing a similar measure.
The European Commission and the Turkish Trade Ministry declined to comment, Bloomberg said.
In an emailed statement to Bloomberg, officials from the UAE said that it "restricts the export and re-export of identified dual-use products to conflict zones and has a legal export control framework in place through which it continuously monitors the export of dual-use products."
Western officials gathered in the UAE in September to discuss strategies to counter sanctions evasion. “The UAE is working with its friends and allies to address any concerns with regards to sanctions on Russia,” a UAE official said at the time.
Although wide-ranging sanctions have been imposed on Russia since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, including 11 packages from the EU, Russia has continued to receive Western-made components that it uses in the manufacturing of weapons and munitions used to attack Ukraine.
In particular, Russia often uses third-party countries, such as the UAE, as a means of disguising that the final destination of sanctioned goods is actually Russia. In addition, dual-use technologies- items that may have both military and commercial uses- can sometimes manage to make it through loopholes in sanctions enforcement.
It was reported on Oct. 27 that the EU confirmed it was working on a 12th sanctions package.
The package may include restrictions on Russian diamond exports, as well as further cracking down on Russia's ability to circumvent sanctions, mainly on its ability to obtain dual-use goods from third-party countries.
Anastasiia Malenko
