Consultations will soon begin between the European Commission and EU nations on the details of the 12th package of sanctions against Russia. This process is expected to be completed in November-December.
As Radio Liberty correspondent Rikard Dzoswiak reported, the consultations between the European Commission and the ambassadors of the EU countries are due to begin this weekend.
“So-called “confessionals” between the European Commission and EU ambassadors on the 12th package of sanctions on Russia starts this weekend intending to reach agreement in Nov though Dec might be more likely”, he wrote.
The EU leaders expect to reach an agreement in November, but it is more likely that this will happen in December. A new EU sanctions package aims at penalising Russia further for its war of aggression against Ukraine.
Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba has previously expressed his wish that the package include measures to prevent the circumvention of existing sanctions and new sanctions against the Russian defence industry.
Bloomberg‘s sources say that the new draft sanctions may include earlier restrictions on trade in Russian diamonds that the Group of Seven countries plan to impose. The 12th package can also include further steps to combat sanctions circumvention through third countries.
In addition, some EU members – primarily Poland and the Baltic states – want to tighten sanctions against Russian liquefied natural gas and IT services and impose restrictions on Russia’s nuclear sector. However, the latter proposal still needs more support from other states.
They also suggest that the EU will finally try to approve a proposal to use the proceeds of the frozen assets of the Russian central bank to help rebuild Ukraine.
The new package of sanctions, Bloomberg’s sources add, will also include further steps to combat Russia’s circumvention of EU sanctions through third countries such as the United Arab Emirates and Turkey.
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