At UN General Assembly, Japarov Says Kyrgyzstan Can’t Break Ties with Russia

Speaking at the UN General Assembly on 24 September, President Sadyr Japarov stated that Kyrgyzstan cannot afford to sever economic links with Russia, Orda.kz reports, citing The Insider.

He described Western sanctions against Kyrgyz companies and banks as “unjust” and “based on false information,” while promising that Bishkek is open to international audits of its financial system. Japarov made similar statements back in August.

One of the main targets of these restrictions is Keremet Bank, which the U.S. and UK sanctioned for alleged ties with Russia’s Promsvyazbank and fugitive Moldovan oligarch Ilan Șor. American regulators claim that in 2024, a firm linked to Șor quietly bought a controlling stake in the bank from Kyrgyzstan’s Finance Ministry.

Șor’s name also surfaces in Kyrgyzstan’s crypto sector.

He launched the A7A5 token, pegged to the ruble and backed by Promsvyazbank deposits, to process cross-border payments outside Western sanctions.

According to the Financial Times, nearly $9.3 billion was moved through the coin in just four months via Kyrgyz-registered exchanges Grinex and Meer, both of which were later sanctioned by Washington.

Meanwhile, on 23 September, Moldovan media outlet IPN reported that documents from Șor’s network suggest he provided Japarov with a $21.8 million Gulfstream G650 jet under a lease-purchase scheme arranged through Turkish intermediaries.

The same trove of files points to a second aircraft, a Gulfstream G450, bought in a similar way.

Șor, convicted in absentia in Moldova over the infamous “theft of the century” that drained $1 billion from banks in 2014, is now based in Moscow. He denies the charges but has been sanctioned by the U.S., EU, and UK.

Reports by Bloomberg note that his companies continue to facilitate transactions for Russian firms cut off from international finance, including through A7, a joint venture with Promsvyazbank.