German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, in an article written for the Frankfurter Allgemeine newspaper, said that Europe knew from the beginning that sanctions against Russia would be in place for a long time.
“It was clear to us from the very beginning that the sanctions would have to be maintained for a long time,” the politician wrote.
He repeated his statement, made in May in an interview with the ZDF television channel, that the West would not agree to the lifting of sanctions in the event of a peaceful settlement of the Ukrainian conflict on “conditions imposed by Russia.”
At the same time, he acknowledged that most Germans are suffering from the consequences of the restrictions, including the high cost of gasoline and food.
“This path is not easy even for such a strong, prosperous country as ours,” Scholz added.
The article states that “the world economy is facing a challenge that has not been seen for decades,” and no country in the world can stand alone against such a development.
In this regard, Scholz called for the unity of the EU countries in policy towards Russia, noting that the EU has already demonstrated it.
“But we must not rest on our laurels,” he explained, adding that the EU must come to an agreement in other areas.
“For me, this means: no more selfish blockades of European decisions by individual member states. No more national single efforts that harm Europe as a whole,” he stressed.
In his words, “we simply can no longer afford a national veto, for example, in foreign policy, if we want to continue to be heard in a world of competing great powers.”
As reported, the EU Foreign Affairs Council will be held on Monday in Brussels. He plans to work in connection with the Ukrainian situation in three areas: support for Ukraine, sanctions against the Russian Federation, informing the international community about the consequences of the conflict, a source in the EU said.
“On the first part, we believe that there will be a discussion of additional military support for Ukraine,” a senior EU official told reporters on condition of anonymity, briefing them on the agenda of the ministerial meeting on Friday.
“There will be a discussion on sanctions (against the Russian Federation). We are preparing a number of measures,” the media interlocutor continued. He confirmed that during the discussion, council members will discuss a proposal to ban Russian exports of gold.
At the same time, the official noted that “we do not expect any decision on sanctions on Monday.”
With regard to military assistance to Kyiv, Brussels expects from the EU Council a “political decision” of the member states on the fifth tranche in accordance with the instructions of the European Council.
The Canadian Foreign Ministry announced the introduction of new sanctions against Russia in response to the ongoing military aggression against Ukraine.
“On July 14, 2022, Canada made further amendments to the rules on special economic measures (Russia) to prohibit the provision of two production services to the Russian oil and gas, chemical and manufacturing industries,” the document said on the ministry’s website.
It is noted that eight new industries from these sectors have been added to the sanctions list.
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, “any person in Canada and any Canadian outside of Canada is prohibited from providing services to Russia or any person in Russia” related to the production of metal products, computer, electronic and optical products, electrical equipment, cars, trailers and semi-trailers, transport equipment, land transport and pipelines.
The Cabinet of Ministers proposes to the National Security and Defense Council to impose five-year sanctions against KVN host Oleksandr Maslyakov, 6 KVN jury members, 19 KVN participants and 7 athletes.
According to Decree No. 535 of June 24, in connection with actions that create real and potential threats to national interests, national security, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, in particular, deliberate violation of the established procedure for entering the temporarily occupied territory of Crimea, participation in concerts and other public events in this territory, the government proposes to impose sanctions against 33 Russian cultural, television and sports figures.
In particular, in relation to: presenter Alexander Maslyakov, showman Valdis Pelsh, singer Pelageya Telegina (stage name “Pelageya”), Belarusian humorist Vadim Galygin, athlete Nikita Nagorny, head of cultural projects Sergei Pershin, deputy of the State Duma of Russia (former player in KVN) Sangadzhi Tarbaev, members of various KVN teams Alexey Kriven, Maxim Konyukhov, Denis Shurenko, Konstantin Butusov, Svetlana Malyutkina, Sultan Nugaibekov, Roman Safonov, Aidar Suleymanov, Denis Bondarev, Pavel Korenevsky, Elena Fedotova, Alina Omelyanchuk, Sergey Zharikov, Mikhail Matyukh, Alexey Zhirnov, Alexander Vysotsky, Irina Devochkina, Alexei Murashov, Vladimir Shnitko, as well as a participant in the International Strength Sports Festival took part in the Eurasian Games 2021, athletes Mikhail Shivlyakov, Vyacheslav Maksyuta, Nazar Dolitsky, Yuri Kolmakov, Petr Martinenko, Oksana Kosheleva , Sergei Kharlamov.
In addition, it is proposed to impose sanctions against two Russian companies that provided travel services and organized events in the occupied Crimea.
In particular, we are talking about Kanon Ru LLC and AMIK Television Creative Association LLC.
The seventh package of EU sanctions will include Russian gas and an expanded list of banks, head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Andriy Yermak said.
“The seventh package of sanctions against Russia is our priority. The EU has already begun work on it. New restrictions should apply to Russian gas and expand the list of banks that will be disconnected from SWIFT, in particular, Gazprombank,” he wrote on his Telegram channel. on Saturday evening with reference to the Deputy Foreign Minister of Poland, Pavel Yablonsky.
The sixth package of EU sanctions provides for a phase-out of Russian oil, in particular from 6 months for crude oil to 8 months for other refined products, the European Council reported.
“The EU has decided to ban the purchase, import or transfer of crude oil and certain petroleum products from Russia to the EU. The phase-out of Russian oil will take from 6 months for crude oil to 8 months for other refined products,” the European Council said in a press release on its website. on Friday.
A temporary exemption is provided for the import of crude oil by pipeline to those EU member states that, due to their geographical position, suffer from a special dependence on supplies from Russia and do not have viable alternatives.
“Moreover, Bulgaria and Croatia will also receive temporary derogations regarding the import of Russian marine oil and vacuum diesel fuel, respectively,” the European Council said.
The proposal of the European Commission regarding the sixth package of sanctions with an oil embargo on Russia because of the war it unleashed against Ukraine will be supported by all member states of the European Union, European Council President Charles Michel has said with confidence.
“I can assure you that I’m working very hard with my team and with my colleagues in order to make sure that we will be able in very short term to take united position on the proposal putted on the table by the Commission,” he said in an exclusive interview with the Interfax-Ukraine.
Michel recalled that “systematically in the past there were some concerns that we would not be able to be united.” “We were systematically able to adopt united position. And, of course, it required some negotiations, talks, decision. We need the support of the 27 governments. A few weeks ago I said publicly in the European Parliament that sooner or later oil and gas would be part of the sanctions. This is an important step… This is Commission which makes a proposal but these are the governments, this is Council which takes a decision,” the President of the European Council said.
