Central Asia Countries Asking For Help To Mitigate Risks From US Sanctions - State Dept.

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 14th July, 2023) Central Asian countries are asking the United States to help mitigate economic risks associated to anti-Russia sanctions, US Deputy Assistant Secretary Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs Elizabeth Horst said on Thursday.

"What they're asking for us is support on sanctions, helping them find a way that they can resist both pressures and giving them an alternative," Horst said during a congressional hearing. "We have engaged very much with them on sanctions, particularly in Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, as a way to not crush their own economies, when they're at risk"

The United States and European Union have imposed hundreds of sanctions against Russian government officials, entities and business leaders after Moscow carried out its special military operation in Ukraine in February 2022.

Most recently, the European Union officially released its 11th package of sanctions against Russia targeting a list of individuals, banks and companies involved in the production and maintenance of weapons.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has said the Russian market did not collapse after the exit of foreign companies and imposition of Western sanctions