The United States has identified five countries that are facilitating Russia’s sanctions circumvention. These are Türkiye, Kazakhstan, Georgia, the United Arab Emirates and Armenia. Jim O’Brien, sanctions coordinator at the US State Department, said this on June 8 in an interview Politico.
He noted that by early 2023, Russia was able to reimport certain key categories of electronics at roughly pre-war levels.
The problem, according to O’Brien, is that European companies sell materials to other countries, which in turn resell them to Russia.
Getting around the sanctions remains a “significant problem,” O’Brien said, adding that the US has identified problems with five countries in particular: Turkey, Kazakhstan, Georgia, the United Arab Emirates and Armenia.
Politico highlights that the European Union is currently working on an 11th package of sanctions against Russia, which could include unprecedented measures against countries that continue to do business with Moscow, allowing it to circumvent sanctions.
However, a number of countries have concerns about the deal: Greece and Hungary have refrained from Ukraine listing some of their companies as “war sponsors,” and others, including Germany and France, fear a ban on sanctions circumvention could harm diplomatic relations with third parties. countries.
The European Commission, which has already softened its initial proposals, presented a new version of the package at a meeting of EU ambassadors on Wednesday, June 7, but the countries were unable to reach an agreement, several EU diplomats told Politico.
Trade between Russia and several countries close to Moscow in the Caucasus and Central Asia, including Georgia, Kazakhstan and Armenia, has skyrocketed since the start of the Kremlin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, according to customs documents obtained by Politico.
The EU, US and other states first imposed sanctions against Russia in response to its aggression against Ukraine in 2014. In 2022, after the full-scale invasion of Russian troops, the restrictions were significantly expanded.
Now the Russian Federation is finding ways to circumvent sanctions, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky said. Ukraine notifies its partners about the facts of circumvention of sanctions. Zelensky emphasized that as many global players as possible should be “absolutely principled in respecting the sanctions regime against Russia for terror.”
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said at a press conference in Kiev on May 9 that the 11th package of EU sanctions against the Russian Federation is focused on combating circumvention of restrictions, and provides for this new tools. According to media reports, restrictions on Russian diamonds, as well as nuclear energy, were not included in it.
2023-06-08 10:32:15
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