KIEV: In the first eight months of 2016, 143 train cars laden with goods destined primarily for Kazakhstan, but also Kyrgyzstan, were stopped at the Russian-Ukrainian border. According to Ukrainian authorities, 106 were rerouted, 33 returned to their senders, and 4 remained at the border as of August 1.
The stoppages are a direct result of a January 1, 2016 decree from Moscow dictating that all trade between Ukraine and Kazakhstan would have to pass through Belarus. That decree, according to the Russians, was a result of the suspension of the four-year-old free trade agreement (FTA) between Ukraine and Russia, itself directly tied to the entry into force of Ukraine’s agreements with the European Union to gain tariff-free access to Europe. On July 1, Russia extended the transport restrictions to cargo bound for Kyrgyzstan as well.
