Ukraine asks Hong Kong not to let Russia circumvent sanctions

(Reuters) -Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba visited Hong Kong on Thursday and called on its leader John Lee to prevent Russia from using Hong Kong as a way to circumvent Western sanctions imposed on Moscow for its full-scale war in Ukraine.

Both Hong Kong and China are seen by the U.S. government as key routes for Russia to source materials for its military, including semiconductors and drone parts.

"Dmytro Kuleba ... called on the Hong Kong administration to take measures to deprive Russia and Russian companies of the opportunity to use Hong Kong to circumvent restrictive measures imposed for Russian aggression against Ukraine," the Ukrainian ministry said in a statement.

The Hong Kong government said in an email response to Reuters that it "implements and strictly enforces United Nations Security Council's sanctions".

According to previously undisclosed U.S. Commerce Department data reported by Reuters, Hong Kong remains a global sanctions evasion hotspot, although semiconductors and other restricted goods shipped through China and Hong Kong fell by a fifth this year.

China, the world's second-largest economy, positions itself as neutral on the Ukraine war, but declared a "no limits" partnership with Russia days before the 2022 invasion. It has also provided diplomatic backing and helped keep Russia's wartime economy afloat.

The Hong Kong government has said in the past it does not implement unilateral sanctions imposed by other countries, but does enforce vigorously sanctions imposed by the United Nations Security Council, pursuant to the instructions of China's Foreign Ministry.

Kuleba travelled to Hong Kong following more than three hours of talks with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi in Guangzhou on Wednesday, which focused on ways to put an end to the Russian war in Ukraine.

(Reporting by Yuliia Dysa, James Pomfret Editing by Alexandra Hudson)