Baku, July 23, AZERTAC
The EU agreed on a new sanctions package against Russia on Thursday, aimed at tightening restrictions on its banking sector and increasing pressure on its oil and gas industry, Anadolu Agency reported.
"I welcome the agreement on the 21st sanctions package against Russia. At a time when Ukraine has built military momentum, our sanctions continue to weaken the economic foundations of Russia’s war effort," the EU Commission president said through US social media company X.
The package adds 32 Russian banks to the EU’s transaction ban list and imposes measures targeting cryptocurrency companies and oil trading platforms, Ursula von der Leyen said.
The bloc will also freeze the adjustment of the Russian oil price cap for one year to prevent Moscow from benefiting from market shocks.
For the first time, the EU will target vessels that assist Russia’s so-called shadow fleet, she added.
Von der Leyen said the bloc had also taken “an important step” toward formally banning Russian combatants from entering the EU.
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said the measures represent the bloc’s largest round of sanctions listings in four years, covering 218 individuals and entities.
“We’ve hit more than a hundred banks and crypto operators, over 40 shadow fleet vessels, and several oil refineries in Russia and Belarus, who help keep Moscow’s war going,” Kallas said on X.
The package also lists more than 50 military-industrial entities, including key actors involved in producing Russia’s long-range drones, in response to attacks on civilians, infrastructure, and cultural heritage, she added.
Kallas said the measures follow sanctions imposed last week on those held responsible for the abuse and killing of Ukrainian prisoners of war and civilian detainees, as well as technology companies accused of enabling the Kremlin’s repression of internet users.
Negotiations on the package, presented by the European Commission in June, had been delayed by disagreements among member states, particularly Greece’s objection to a proposed ban on EU companies transporting Russian liquefied natural gas to third countries.
Athens argued that the proposal exceeded the framework previously agreed by EU leaders and would be ineffective, as vessels could re-register outside the bloc and continue operating.
Source: azertag.az
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