Overview
- Kyrgyz officials said EU envoy David O’Sullivan will visit Bishkek on February 26 after a video call that set up substantive dialogue on sanctions.
- Bloomberg reported the EU is considering its anti-circumvention mechanism to restrict exports of machine tools and some radio equipment to Kyrgyzstan.
- No decision has been announced, and adoption would be the first state-level use of the EU’s described “last resort” tool in Central Asia.
- Kyrgyzstan’s wartime trade with Russia has surged, and several Kyrgyz banks and cryptocurrency firms have been sanctioned by the United States, the EU and the UK.
- The reported plans arrive days before the U.S.-backed B5+1 forum in Bishkek on February 4–5, raising the risk of diplomatic friction during the event.