EU to freeze Vladimir Putin’s assets over Ukraine invasion

The European Union (EU) will freeze the assets of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov over Moscow’s military campaign in Ukraineconfirmed the high representative of Foreign Affairs of the bloc, Josep Borrell.

“If there are no surprises and if no one objects, because we need unanimity, then yes, Putin and Lavrov will be on the list,” the Spaniard told the media before participating in an extraordinary meeting in which the foreign ministers of the Twenty-seven will approve the second package of sanctions against Russia.

The countries of the EU reached an agreement on this step at the level of ambassadorsvarious diplomatic sources informed EFE, who coincide in pointing out that it is still pending to receive the green light from the ministers.

“We have hit Putin’s system where it needs to be hit, not only economically and financially but in terms of power. That is why we not only put oligarchs on the list, numerous deputies who prepared these steps, but now we also include President Putin and Foreign Minister Lavrov,” said German Minister Annalena Baerbock.

The Luxembourg foreign minister, Jean Asselborn, also considered that, although there will still be a discussion today, the Twenty-seven are close to an agreement to freeze the assets of Putin and his foreign minister in the EU.

The foreign ministers meet today exceptionally in Brussels to approve a package of sanctions agreed yesterday by the leaders which seeks to attack the base of the Russian economy and includes measures for its financial, energy and transport sectors, the export of dual-use goods, visa policy and individual sanctions.

The EU defends that it is an unprecedented harshness, but that it leaves room to continue responding if Moscow advances in its aggression against Ukraine.

In this sense, Asselborn added that, although the sanctions under discussion today do not foresee excluding Russian entities from the international Swift transfer system, this measure will remain on the table and that Russian banks’ access to the financial market will be cut off, which “will do a lot, a lot of damage.”

The French Foreign Minister, Jean-Yves Le Drian, said upon his arrival at the meeting that the second package of sanctions that will be validated today “will not be enough”, so “it will be necessary to continue” adopting measures, focusing on the first place in the Russian “oligarchs” and including a new round of sanctions against Belarus, the sixth against the pro-Russian regime of Alexandr Lukashenko.

He also advocated providing long-term aid to the Ukrainians, through military equipment, support to those who go into exile and to neighboring countries “given the brutality of Putin’s action.”

“What I see in this brutal offensive is that Donbas was nothing more than a pretext,” Le Drian said, stressing that what is taking place is a “combat between Russian forces and Putin against democracy and the sovereignty of states.” .

It is “very important” that the EU front and the majority of the international community is “united against Putin and his way of acting”, said the Danish Foreign Minister, Jeppe Kofod, referring to the sanctions against Moscow for its “totally insane” aggression against Ukraine.

“We are working for the strongest sanctions that we can agree on. And also for other measures that can isolate and punish Putin and Russia for the acts that they have done. This is something that we want to react strongly to not only in Europe, but to world level. So that’s what we’ll do. We’ll discuss the concrete sanction points,” Kofod said.

We are at a “very decisive” moment for the future of Ukraine, pointed out, for his part, the Finn Pekka Haavisto, who urged to redouble solidarity with the country, not only with restrictive measures against Russia, but also with direct financial aid, such as the additional 15 million euros that his country has unlocked for support their “resilience”. (I)