Der Spiegel: Armenia sells German goods to Russia to bypass sanctions

Russia's neighbouring countries are buying more and more German goods and probably bypassing Western sanctions, selling them to Moscow.

Armenia has quadrupled its exports to Russia to about $2.5 billion in the past two years, according to a Der Spiegel article.

In addition to traditional fruit and nuts, as well as “Ararat” brand wine and cognac, Armenia has begun exporting high-tech and industrial goods of all kinds over the past year.

In 2022, Armenia supplied $460 million worth of electronic equipment to Russian customers. Equipment sales rose from $14 million to $158 million.

In December, German companies' export revenues from Armenian businesses were 287 per cent higher than the 2018-2020 average.

In addition to Armenia, Kazakhstan has also started buying more German goods. German export revenues are up 210 per cent compared to the 2018-2020 average. In Kyrgyzstan, the increase is as much as 1,157 per cent.

The change in trade flows is so extensive that analysts at the European Bank for Reconstruction (EBRD) speak of a “Eurasian Bypass”.

German business representatives point out that the trade boom can also be explained by other factors.

Before the Russian invasion of Ukraine, many German companies used Russia as a distribution centre, from where goods were delivered to Yerevan and Astana. As this is no longer possible due to sanctions, deliveries are being made directly to these countries.

Moreover, the number of potential customers is increasing in Armenia and Kazakhstan due to the large number of migrants from Russia.

At the same time, as Spiegel points out, it is unlikely that these reasons can explain such sales of German goods to Russia's neighbouring countries.