The EU is on the verge of further tightening sanctions against Russia. “Maybe this afternoon, tomorrow at the latest,” EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell said on Thursday. One of the plans is to stop coal imports. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba described the planned new EU sanctions package against Russia as a “step forward”.
Borrell hopes that the EU will also limit oil imports from Russia as soon as possible. An oil embargo is not part of the current sanctions package that EU countries are currently discussing, the Spaniard said on the sidelines of NATO foreign ministers’ talks in Brussels, but it will be an issue at the meeting of the EU foreign ministers on Monday . “And sooner or later, I hope sooner, it will happen.”
Fifth package of sanctions against Russia
EU Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen proposed a fifth package of sanctions against Russia on Tuesday, which EU countries are now discussing. It includes an import ban on coal from Russia, as well as further restrictions on trade with Russia and a comprehensive entry ban on Russian ships in EU ports.
In her announcement, von der Leyen made explicit reference to the acts of violence in Bucha, Ukraine, which became public this weekend. He hopes the fifth package will be approved by EU ambassadors next Thursday and then finally decided in writing, Borrell said.
Ukraine’s sanctions do not go far enough
Kuleba said just a week ago that proposals for the new sanctions package were significantly weaker. He also spoke on the sidelines of talks with the 30 NATO foreign ministers in Brussels. “We were very unhappy with it.” At the same time, he reiterated that the planned package was still insufficient from a Ukrainian point of view. They will continue to push for an oil and gas embargo on Russia and for all Russian banks to be excluded from the banking communications network SWIFT.
Kuleba said he hopes it will never again be necessary to shock other countries into imposing new sanctions. “I do not believe that Ukrainians should pay with their lives, health and suffering for the political will of the partners to impose sanctions.”
Source: Krone
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