On the anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the EU countries agreed on another package of sanctions against Russia after lengthy negotiations. Among other things, the new punitive measures provide for additional trade restrictions, as the Swedish EU Council Presidency announced on Friday evening in Brussels. It is the tenth package of sanctions since February last year.
The agreement was reached in the Committee of Permanent Representatives of all 27 Member States in Brussels. It is now to be formalized in a written procedure by Saturday at 11:30 a.m. The package will come into force once it has been published in the EU Official Journal.
Actually, the new sanctions should already be in effect on the anniversary, but the negotiations took longer than planned. According to diplomats, the main reason for this was that Poland vehemently pushed for stricter rules on import restrictions for synthetic rubber from Russia – but Italy rejected them. Poland finally gave in. According to a Polish diplomat, Warsaw agreed on the condition that imports of synthetic rubber into the EU will be subject to regular checks in the future. In addition, work continues on sanctions against the Russian nuclear sector.
What the restrictions apply to
According to earlier information from Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, the new trade restrictions will apply in particular to industrial goods that Russian industry cannot obtain from third countries such as China. These include machine parts, antennas, cranes, special vehicles and spare parts for trucks and engines.
In addition, there are said to be export restrictions for around 50 new electronic components that can be used for Russian weapon systems as well as drones, rockets and helicopters. Certain rare earths and thermal imaging cameras are also covered by the new rules.
In order to prevent companies from non-EU countries from supplying Russia with civilian goods that can be used for military purposes, such as drones, the application of the existing sanctions regime will be extended. In the future, companies will have to fear losing access to the EU internal market. According to the Commission, several Iranian companies involved in supplying Russia with Shahed-type drones will be sanctioned as a first step. “We want to use this to scare off other companies and international traders,” said von der Leyen in mid-February.
As with previous sanctions packages, the list of those persons who are no longer allowed to enter the EU and whose assets in the EU must be frozen will also be added. Propagandists, military commanders and political leaders are said to be affected.
Zelensky: No meeting with Putin
Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has reiterated his strict no to a meeting with Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin. He was also reacting to a move by Turkish President Recep Tayyin Erdogan in Kiev on Friday, who wanted to persuade Putin to start negotiations in a telephone call. Zelenskiy said that before the war broke out, Erdogan suggested that he bring Putin to the negotiating table in order to prevent a major war.
“But he couldn’t.” Then he added: “Now we can’t.” However, Zelensky held out the prospect of meeting with Chinese head of state and party leader Xi Jinping. “I believe that this will be beneficial for our countries and global security,” Zelensky said. “This isn’t just about war. It’s about us being states interested in maintaining economic ties.” China had previously called on both sides to hold talks in a position paper.
NATO countries want peace talks
In any case, Germany, France and Great Britain want to encourage Ukraine to start peace talks with Russia. That reported that Wall Street Journal Friday evening citing representatives of the three countries. The three most important Euro-NATO partners see the closer ties between NATO and Kiev as an opportunity to persuade Kiev to start negotiations. China’s UN representative Dai Bing also called for negotiations in New York “without conditions”.
“We call on Russia and Ukraine to resume negotiations without preconditions,” Dai said at a UN Security Council meeting marking the first anniversary of the Russian invasion. “Ukraine is not an arena for battles between major countries. Nobody should benefit from the conflict at the expense of the people of Ukraine,” said the Beijing diplomat. China had previously called for a ceasefire and negotiations in a position paper.
In the ZiB 2 of the ORF, the Ukrainian Deputy Foreign Minister Andriy Melnyk welcomed the Chinese position paper on ending the war. At the same time, he declared that many of the points contained therein were “unacceptable”, such as calls for a ceasefire or the lifting of sanctions against Moscow. Rather, Beijing should influence the Kremlin so that Russia ends the war, because after all the “key to ending the war” lies in the Kremlin, Melnyk said via Skype on the ORF program.