U.S., UK and European Union officials plan to pressure the United Arab Emirates into halting exports to Russia that may help the country in its invasion of Ukraine, the Wall Street Journal reports.
Officials from those countries are reportedly visiting the UAE in an effort to convince government officials to stop exporting computer chips, electronic components and other so-called dual-use products, which can be used by both civilians and the military, to Russia, according to the WSJ.
U.S. and European officials said they’re increasingly concerned that Western-made goods are making their way to Russia via the UAE despite sanctions imposed on Russia that forbid those goods from being sold to Russian buyers.
The U.A.E. has not imposed the sanctions that most Western countries did at the onset of the war, but has said it doesn’t want to be used to evade Western sanctions by transporting goods through the UAE. The country has condemned the invasion of Ukraine at the U.N. on multiple occasions, but has maintained diplomatic ties with both Russia and the West.
Russia’s Industry and Trade Minister Denis Manturov said in February on Russian state media that bilateral trade between the UAE and Russia increased 68% year-over-year to $9 billion in 2022.
Meanwhile, visit isn’t the first visit from U.S., UK and EU delegations to countries that haven’t imposed sanctions on russia. Western officials have traveled to countries like Turkey and Kazakhstan as well to pressure leaders there to stop Western dual-use products from being shipped to Russia.
However, some of the West’s typical rivals have not made any efforts to abide by Western sanctions. After the initial invasion in February 2022, China’s exports to Russia grew from $230 million to over $300 million worth of semiconductors and integrated circuits, according to United Nations trade data.