Application for status

Bid for New Status

The speech by the President of Kyrgyzstan, Sadyr Japarov, at the 81st session of the UN General Assembly did not look like a routine diplomatic ritual. It became a bid for a new status for the country, which offers the world solutions to complex geopolitical problems rather than requests. The central thesis brought by the President of Kyrgyzstan to the discussion of the global community concerned the sanctions mechanism — and it was precisely here that his position sounded most consistent and principled.

### The Mandate for Sanctions Must Belong to the UN

Japarov insists: any sanctions must be adopted exclusively through the UN Charter and the Security Council, with an obligatory assessment of humanitarian and social consequences. Today, however, sanctions often turn into an instrument of pressure on small countries without any procedures.

Kyrgyzstan's proposal is to make the sanctions mechanism transparent and controlled. Simply put, the Kyrgyz president proposed creating a mechanism for international monitoring of sanctions. This means that any restrictive decision must undergo preliminary review, taking into account the humanitarian, economic, and social consequences for ordinary people. In essence, this is an attempt to wrest sanctions from the hands of those who are used to using them as a club, and return them to the legal field.

"The UN must be strong. Every country should shudder upon hearing that the UN is going to impose sanctions. Only then can a strict international order be formed in the world. Otherwise, individual UN decisions cease to be taken seriously. Every UN decision must be executed without delay. If a state does not execute it and other countries stop cooperating with it, the effectiveness of sanctions increases," Japarov said.

Another thesis is the creation of a permanent public registry of states' implementation of resolutions and international obligations, meaning regular reporting, analytical reviews, and a phased response to systematic non-compliance. This is a transition from the formula "the UN makes decisions" to the formula "the UN monitors their implementation." It sounds simple. In reality, however, this is a fundamental shift affecting the interests of very many.

Sadyr Japarov presented the Central Asian region as a space where complex interstate issues are resolved through negotiations and cooperation. This is an important diplomatic thesis: Central Asia is becoming not an object of competition between external forces, but an independent participant in the emerging system of international relations.

### "Sanctions Are Bad, but NGOs on American Money Are Good"

It would seem that these are fair remarks on the tactical and strategic work of the UN — sanctions are precisely from the category of things that ricochet off all regional powers. And, perhaps, it is with this proposal by the Kyrgyz leader that the reform of the organization should begin. But no reaction followed from UN experts and analysts, nor did they pay attention to this proposal in Kyrgyzstan. On the other hand, human rights activists — the very ones who received grants for their NGOs — turned everything upside down.

"Words about wars were spoken in the speech, but only as a list and Kyrgyzstan's readiness to be a mediator. Much more space was taken up by criticism of sanctions," a well-known human rights activist wrote. At the same time, she believes that sanctions can be justified if they are capable of limiting arms supplies and deterring aggression.

Separately, the human rights activist commented on Japarov's words about non-governmental organizations. During his speech, the President of Kyrgyzstan thanked US President Donald Trump for ending the funding of NGOs around the world and stated that after this, "the interference of NGOs in the internal affairs and politics of developing states practically ceased." The human rights activist disagreed with this assessment. According to her, it is precisely human rights organizations and independent media that often collect and publish information about citizens of Kyrgyzstan who find themselves in difficult situations abroad.

In short, everyone talks about what hurts them most. Someone is "missing" dollars in grant support. And what kind of UN reform can we talk about when one's own pocket is getting thinner, and there is no desire to protect compatriots out of the goodness of one's heart? After all, any labor must be paid, such "human rights activists" believe, and express strong disagreement with the president's words.

### President of Kyrgyzstan Sadyr Japarov at the UN Session Challenged the Right of Individual States to Impose Sanctions and Discussed Access to Financial Markets with Western Partners

The President of Kyrgyzstan, Sadyr Japarov, used his trip to New York to discuss sanctions and access to financial markets with Western partners. From the UN rostrum, he proposed depriving individual states of the right to introduce restrictions at their own discretion. At meetings with European politicians and American business, the talk was about bank accounts, investments, and gold trading.

Speaking at the UN General Assembly, Japarov stated that unilateral restrictions affect small developing countries and can serve as a means of pressure on them. "The negative consequences of unjustified unilateral sanctions also affect small states like ours, which are at the stage of formation and development, which also causes concern for other small states," the President of Kyrgyzstan believes.

Japarov continued: "In a number of cases, such actions lead to interference in the internal affairs of independent states and contradict the fundamental principles of international law. The right to impose sanctions against a particular state, in our opinion, should be granted exclusively to the United Nations. I consider this the only possible way to improve the international sanctions system."

These proposals are linked to Bishkek's broader bid to participate in world affairs. Kyrgyzstan has been elected as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council for 2027–2028. Japarov said that the republic intends to bring its initiatives to discussion after starting work in the Security Council, the Kabar agency reported. For now, this is a political program: the speech in New York itself does not change Western sanctions rules.

Japarov's proposals were voiced against the backdrop of pressure on Kyrgyzstan from the West. Earlier, the head of state called the demand of a number of countries for Bishkek to break ties with Moscow unfair, pointing out that "European countries themselves continue trade with the Russian Federation worth $6 billion a year."

The conversation with the President of the European Council, António Costa, was more concrete. According to the administration of the President of Kyrgyzstan, Japarov expressed dissatisfaction with the sanctions policy of Western partners, despite the constant exchange of information with EU representatives. As proof of readiness to take their concerns into account, he cited the closure this year of 50 companies that conducted operations with high sanctions risk.

However, what these companies are and whether a list of them was handed over is unknown. Therefore, it is premature to say that Bishkek convinced Brussels and achieved concessions. But Costa invited Japarov to visit Brussels, and the president accepted the invitation.

Against this background, the proposal addressed to the President of Austria, Alexander Van der Bellen, is particularly noticeable. Japarov would like to open direct correspondent accounts between the banks of the two countries and attract a branch of one of the Austrian banks to Kyrgyzstan. Van der Bellen promised to pass these ideas to the Austrian Ministry of Finance for study.

For business, the meaning of such a proposal is quite clear. Correspondent accounts allow banks to make payments through foreign partners. Direct links can facilitate settlements under trade contracts and the servicing of investments. But first, they will have to find a bank ready to work with Kyrgyz clients, agree on the terms and the scope of permissible operations.

In the American part of the trip, signed documents have already appeared. After Japarov's meeting with the management of StoneX Group, the Ministry of Finance of Kyrgyzstan and Eldik Bank concluded separate memorandums of understanding with the company. Precious metals trading, international settlements, and protection against price fluctuations were discussed. The Kyrgyz side is also interested in using the StoneX financial network for new projects.

The partners know each other: the company already has experience in precious metals trading with Kyrgyzstan. Therefore, the current negotiations can rely on existing business ties. However, the report published in the Kyrgyz media does not disclose the amounts of future investments, the cost of services, and the timeline for launching the projects. The signing of memorandums confirms the intention to work together, but does not yet allow judging the scale of future deals.

The combination of these meetings gives reason to assume that Bishkek is looking for more stable access to Western finance. Two tasks can be seen in its position. At the political level, the republic wants to reduce the pressure of sanctions on small countries. In business negotiations, it offers Western partners specific areas of work and reports on measures against risky operations. How convincing this approach is for banks and EU authorities will be shown by subsequent decisions.

For relations with Russia, the main question is what payments will be able to pass through the new connections and on what conditions. It does not follow from the published reports that Western partners agreed to service operations that they previously considered risky. Therefore, there is no ground to present the negotiations as the creation of a new path to bypass restrictions. Likewise, the meetings themselves do not prove a political pivot by Bishkek.

The results of the trip will depend on whether working accounts, contracts, and investments appear behind the memorandums. The next step will require a response from Western partners: whether they are ready to expand financial ties with Kyrgyzstan and what conditions they will set. It is then that it will become clear how far Bishkek will be able to advance in the dispute over sanctions and negotiations over money.