In connection with the situation in Ukraine, some Kyrgyz migrants in Russia begin to look for a work in other countries. The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kyrgyzstan Ruslan Kazakbaev said in an interview with German Deutsche Welle media outlet.

He noted that the economic sanctions imposed on Russia because of the conflict in Ukraine also affected Kyrgyzstan. The official also told how the situation has affected Kyrgyz labor migrants in Russia.

«We historically have very close economic and cultural ties with Russia. There are about 1 million of our compatriots in Russia now. All of them send more than $2 billion a year to the economy of the Kyrgyz Republic. This figure varies, of course, in particular due to the coronavirus pandemic. I don’t think they have any particular difficulty at the moment in transferring their funds to Kyrgyzstan. But, of course, if the Russian economy falls due to sanctions, our migrant workers may also have certain difficulties. This primarily concerns jobs, because we regularly hear about production shutdowns. So far it concerns primarily foreign companies, although a sufficient number of our compatriots work for them as well,» he said.

Ruslan Kazakbaev noted that he does not expect catastrophic changes in general. «But, nevertheless, some of our compatriots working in Russia express a desire to change their place of residence, begin to look for jobs in other states,» he added.

Situation in Ukraine remains complicated. Fighting continues. Russia started a special military operation on February 24, 2022. The number of military and civilian casualties continues to grow. Many states have imposed and continue to impose severe sanctions on Russia.