EU agrees on new sanctions on Russia
The European Union has agreed to impose a new round of sanctions against Russia.
The new package of EU sanctions comes one day before a direct round of negotiations between Ukraine and Russia in Istanbul, Türkiye.
The preliminary deal on the new sanctions, the 17th package since February 2022, was sealed on Wednesday morning during a meeting of EU ambassadors and is expected to be formally approved by foreign affairs ministers next week.
Hungary, a vocal critic of economic restrictions, which has twice this year almost blocked their renewal, did not oppose the measures. The behind-the-scenes discussions among member states proceeded without any major controversy, diplomats noted, a possible sign of the limited scope of the proposal.
"This war has to end. We will keep the pressure high," said Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, News.Az reports, citing foreign media.
Once again, the prime target of the sanctions is the "shadow fleet" that the Kremlin has deployed to circumvent Western restrictions on the oil trade and maintain a source of revenue that is crucial to fund the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
The fleet consists of old-age, uninsured ships suspected of deceptive practices, including transmitting falsified data, turning off their transponders to become invisible and conducting multiple ship-to-ship transfers to conceal the origin of their barrels. The vessels are also under scrutiny for engaging in sabotage against critical infrastructure.
So far, the bloc has targeted 153 tankers from the "shadow fleet", all of which have been denied access to EU ports and services.
The new sanctions add 189 vessels, bringing the total number to just over 350.
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