President Shavkat Mirziyoyev met with an EU Sanctions Envoy David O'Sullivan on the sidelines of the Tashkent International Investment Forum, the presidential press service said.
Reportedly, the parties considered various aspects of the multifaceted partnership between Uzbekistan and the EU, primarily in the trade and economic areas.
They commended the growth in the two-way trade observed in recent years, the increase in the number of joint ventures and investment projects implemented under the EU GSP+ preferential system and exchanged views on topical issues on the international agenda.
Earlier, EU Special Representative for Sanctions David O'Sullivan said that the EU greatly appreciates the assurances of the Uzbek authorities, who do not want their country's territory to be used by Russia to circumvent sanctions.
“We fully understand and respect Uzbekistan's desire to remain neutral in this situation. We really appreciate the assurances of the Uzbek authorities, who do not want their country's territory to be used to circumvent sanctions,” O'Sullivan said.
At the same time, he stressed that the EU does not seek to impose sanctions against Uzbekistan and harm trade relations with other partners, including Russia. “But we are seeing attempts to circumvent sanctions through third countries,” he said, adding that this could lead to sanctions against economic agents that help European companies supply products to Russia.
“Other countries are free to build their relations with Russia as they see fit. Facts of illegal trade may lead to sanctions from the EU. Any legal export to Russia is an internal affair of these countries. It's none of our business," O'Sullivan said.
According to him, "sanctions would be there for many years," but it was important to find ways of cooperation with Uzbekistan "so as not to create a situation in which sanctions become an obstacle to the development of our ties."
