The United States and its partners are closely monitoring sanctions compliance and are supporting Central Asian countries in their quest to diversify trade relations and reduce ties with Russia, US Secretary of State/Antoni Blinken said in Astana, Podrobno.uz reported.
This statement was made at the summit of the Foreign Ministers of the Central Asian countries and the US Secretary of State, held in the capital of Kazakhstan.
"We have issued licenses [which give relief under the sanctions regime] to companies and enterprises in those countries that are closely associated with sanctioned Russian companies so that they have time to reduce their ties with Russia," Blinken said.
Regarding compensation, Blinken said the US will make efforts to "strengthen the region." One of the mechanisms for this is the Economic Resilience Initiative in Central Asia (ERICEN), launched by the US administration in September 2022 to spur economic growth in the countries of the region.
After completing the meeting with the five foreign ministers of the countries of the region, the US Secretary of State went to Tashkent, where negotiations with the President of Uzbekistan are expected.
CentralasianLIGHT.org
March 1, 2023