The European Union (EU) is preparing a package of personal, economic, financial and trade sanctions against Russia. This was announced on January 31 by the Executive Vice President of the European Commission Valdis Dombrovskis.
Restrictions may be introduced “in case of aggression against Ukraine.”
“A package of sanctions is being developed. This will be a very serious, large-scale package, the purpose of which will be to contain Russia. It will consist of personal, economic, financial, trade sanctions,” he said at a press conference in Kiev.
At the same time, Dombrovskis stressed that the EU is currently focused on diplomatic efforts to de-escalate the situation around Ukraine.
Earlier in the day, British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said that Russia would be subject to the toughest sanctions regime in the event of aggression against Ukraine.
According to her, the new restrictions will apply to people who have ties with the Russian government. Sanctions will also allow freezing the assets of Russian companies in the UK.
On January 30, Truss announced that London was going to expand the list of sanctions legislation so that any company representing the interests of the Kremlin could be subject to restrictions.
In response, Dmitry Novikov, First Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on International Affairs, said that British sanctions had no effect on the lives of Russian citizens.
Also on Sunday, EU diplomat Josep Borrell said the European Union was working on new sanctions against Russia that could lead to “serious costs for the Russian economy and financial system.” In particular, it considers “export control measures that would have a long-term effect, depriving Russia of the goods it needs to realize its strategic ambitions.”
On January 25, the United States announced that American financial sanctions against the Russian Federation in the event of an “invasion of Ukraine” would be tougher than in 2014, when the ruble fell by 50%. In addition, the White House warned about the preparation against Russia of restrictions on the supply of complex technologies in addition to financial restrictions. On the same day, US President Joe Biden said that he did not exclude the imposition of personal sanctions against the President of the Russian Federation in the event of Russia’s “invasion” of Ukraine.
In turn, the press secretary of the President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Peskov drew attention to the fact that US calls for sanctions against the Russian leader are politically destructive, but not painful. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, commenting on possible US sanctions, said that Moscow is ready for any development of events.
Western politicians and media representatives continue to spread numerous speculations about possible Russian aggression against Ukraine. The Russian side has repeatedly denied such statements. Moscow stressed that it had no plans to invade a neighboring country.
Source: IZ
Jane Stock is a technology author, who has written for 24 Hours World. She writes about the latest in technology news and trends, and is always on the lookout for new and innovative ways to improve his audience’s experience.
