Kazakhstan's backdoor trade with Russia must be stopped

David A. Merkel is managing director of Summit International Advisors, a consultancy based in Phoenix, Arizona. He previously served as U.S. deputy assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian affairs and as director for South and Central Asia at the National Security Council.

Kazakh Foreign Minister Murat Nurtleu traveled to Brussels last month, just weeks after taking office, to plead his country's case amid growing signs that the EU and U.S. may impose sanctions on Astana over the blind eye it has turned to the trafficking of restricted goods to Russia.