Ukraine offers an EU plan to strengthen sanctions against Russia while the US is hesitant – Reuters
Next week, Ukraine will ask the European Union to take new large -scale measures to isolate Russia – including assets arrest, the introduction of secondary sanctions against Russian oil buyers and changes in the voting procedure for sanctions.
Source: Reuters
Details: The Ukrainian Government plans to submit the EU’s White Book with proposals for the more radical sanction policy of the bloc on Russia. Among the key recommendations are the arrest of Russian assets with the subsequent transfer of them to Ukraine, the introduction of secondary sanctions against Russian oil buyers, in particular foreign companies that help the Kremlin to circumvent existing restrictions.
Advertising:
Literally: « Secondary sanctions that can be hit by key buyers of Russian oil – such as India and China. This step is considered unprecedented for Europe, which is still refrain from such a rigid position. »
Details: The 40-page document, which must be transferred to 27 EU Member States, emphasizes the need to take a « more aggressive and independent position » in sanction policy. In particular, it is proposed to change the rules for making decisions on sanctions, moving from the principle of unanimity to voting by most to avoid blocking decisions by individual countries.
The White Book also contains a critical assessment of Washington’s current policy. In particular, it is stated that the Trump administration has actually emerged from the process of coordinating international sanctions.
« Today, Washington has actually ceased to participate in almost all intergovernmental platforms from sanctions and export control, » the document reads.
Literally: « Washington suspended the monitoring of pricing restrictions on Russian oil, dissolved the federal target group that was pursuing violators, and transferred a considerable number of experts on sanctions to other units.
The uncertainty about the US position has slowed economic countermeasures and multilateral coordination, but this should not prompt the European Union to weaken the sanction pressure. « On the contrary, it should stimulate the EU to take on a leading role in this direction, » the document reads.
Details: Although the EU is not able to fully compensate for the US sanction influence due to the dominance of the dollar in world trade, experts believe that Europe will be able to restrain the return of investors to Russia even with the conditions of weakening pressure from the US.
« Europe has many more trumps than you can imagine, » says Russian energy expert in Harvard Craig Kennedy.
Prehistory:
- After talking to Putin on Monday, May 19, Trump refused to impose new sanctions againstHaving destroyed the hopes of European leaders and Ukraine, who for weeks persuaded him to increase pressure on Putin.
- Tuesday, May 20, EU and Britain They still imposed additional sanctions against Russia, saying that they still hope that Washington would join them.
- As Euro Pravda wrote, the 18th package of sanctions against Russia, which has already been started in the EU, except Russian banks, can contain restrictions Against the banks of states from the European Union, which support the Russian defense industry and the army.
