EU agrees on new sanctions against Russia: Threatens more if Putin rejects ceasefire!
The new EU sanctions package comes a day before a round of direct talks between Ukraine and Russia in Turkey. The European Union has agreed to impose a new round of sanctions against Russia, threatening to impose another if the country continues to reject the 30-day unconditional ceasefire proposed by the White House and the "Coalition of the Willing."
The big push comes as Volodymyr Zelenskyy challenges Vladimir Putin to sit down for direct peace talks in Turkey, a format endorsed by Donald Trump. So far, the Kremlin has not confirmed whether the Russian president will actually travel to Istanbul.
"I believe that if Putin does not come and play games, it is the last point that he does not want to end the war ," Zelenskyy said. The preliminary agreement on the new sanctions, the 17th package since February 2022, was signed on Wednesday morning during a meeting of EU ambassadors and is expected to be formally approved by foreign ministers next week.
Hungary, a vocal critic of the economic restrictions, which has twice this year almost blocked their renewal, did not oppose the measures. Behind-the-scenes discussions among member states took place without any major controversy, diplomats noted, a possible sign of the proposal's limited scope.
Once again, the main 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 essential to finance the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
The fleet is made up of old, unsecured ships suspected of fraudulent practices, including transmitting falsified data, turning off their transponders to make themselves invisible, and making multiple transfers from one ship to another to hide the origin of their barrels. The ships are also under scrutiny for involvement in sabotage against critical infrastructure.
So far, the bloc has targeted 153 tankers from the “shadow fleet,” which have been denied access to EU ports and services. The new sanctions add almost 200 ships, bringing the total to more than 350. Wednesday’s deal also blacklists 75 individuals and companies involved in Russia’s military-industrial complex and more than 30 firms suspected of supplying Moscow with dual-use goods that Western allies have banned, diplomats said. It also bans exports of EU-made chemicals that could be used to make missiles.
Europe's ultimatum
With the 17th package almost complete, Brussels is already considering the next step. The lack of progress on the diplomatic front has prompted calls across Europe for tightening economic pressure on Russia as a way to force Putin to take charge and get him to accept a ceasefire. However, the Kremlin has shown no willingness to engage with this proposal.
"We can confirm that, in the absence of a ceasefire, (...) we are indeed considering further sanctions ," a Commission spokesman said on Tuesday. In a late-night speech, French President Emmanuel Macron mentioned Russia's financial services, oil and gas as possible targets, in coordination with Washington.
Europe's goal is to " achieve a thirty-day ceasefire on land, air and sea to discuss the issue of territories and security guarantees," Macron said. But any new plan, especially if it is harsh, is bound to face resistance from Hungary.
While Budapest eventually gave in and agreed to renew existing sanctions, Brussels was left reeling from the race against time and is currently considering alternative methods to bypass vetoes and ensure that the broad regime can remain in place.
"We are considering all options ," Valdis Dombrovskis, the European Commissioner for Economy, said on Tuesday. "These are difficult discussions, but so far we have managed to agree on a large number of sanctions packages (...) through the unanimity procedure. So we need to have all the tools and all the options on the table."
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