The European Union (EU) will freeze the assets of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov for Moscow’s military campaign in Ukraine, confirmed the bloc’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs, Josep Borrell. “If there are no surprises and if nobody objects, because we need unanimity, then yes, Putin and Lavrov will be on the list“, Said the Spaniard in statements to 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 EU countries reached an agreement on this step at the level of ambassadors, various diplomatic sources informed EFE, who agree in pointing out that it is still pending to receive the green light from the ministers. “We have hit the Putin system where it needs to be hit, not only economically and financially but in terms of power. That is why we are not only putting oligarchs on the list, numerous deputies who prepared these steps, but now we are also including 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 met 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.
More sanctions if Russia continues its aggression against Ukraine
The EU defends that it is an unprecedented harshness, but that 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 Russian banks’ access to the financial market will be cut off, which “will do a lot, a lot of damage “.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said upon 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 first on the Russian “oligarchs” and including a new round of sanctions on Belarus, the sixth against the pro-Russian regime of Alexandr Lukashenko. He also advocated providing long-term aid to Ukrainians, through military equipment, support for those in exile and 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,” said Le Drian, stressing that what is taking place it is a “combat of the Russian forces and Putin against the democracy and sovereignty of the 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 they have done. This is something we want to react strongly to not only in Europe, but globally. So that’s what we’ll do. We will discuss the specific points of sanction,” said Kofod. 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 measures restrictions against Russia, but also with direct financial aid, such as the additional 15 million euros that your country has unlocked to support its “resilience”.
Source: Lasexta
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