Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has had recent discussions with the President of Kazakhstan on helping to ensure that Kazakhstan is not used to evade Russian sanctions.

The Foreign Secretary has not spoken to the President of Kazakhstan. However, on 20 December we will host a Strategic Dialogue with Foreign Minister Tileuberdi, where we will discuss all aspects of UK-Kazakhstan cooperation, including the response to Russia's war in Ukraine, and sanctions against Russia. The UK is committed to ensuring that third countries are not used by Russia to evade sanctions. We regularly underline our support for Kazakhstan's compliance with international sanctions, and welcome remarks made by Kazakh Government officials regarding their stance against circumvention.