EU Special Envoy on Sanctions, David O'Sullivan, told Euronews about the West's attempts to impede the import of goods into Russia through third countries.
The EU is currently negotiating with countries that have the potential to redirect sub-sanctioned goods to Russia. These countries include those in the South Caucasus and Central Asia regions, as well as Turkey and Serbia, which are candidates for EU membership. During a session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the EU and UK Partnership in Brussels, a key participant in these negotiations stated that the countries through which goods from the sanctioned goods previously transited to Russia are now making such re-exports more difficult.
David O'Sullivan, EU Special Envoy on Sanctions, stated:
"They do not want to be platforms for circumventing sanctions. They do not want their jurisdictions to be used as a means for Russian military personnel to continue having access to lethal weapons. And I believe we have received a fairly good response on this matter. Most countries have taken measures to complicate, if not make impossible, the re-export of these goods."
The EU holds the view that sanctions have a significant impact on Russia's military capabilities. This is evident in Russia's attempts to acquire modern weaponry and the decline in government revenues, resulting in the disappearance of the budget surplus. Traditionally, Russia had a significant budget surplus, but now it has turned into a deficit. According to forecasts, difficulties will continue to grow as Russia redirects funds from production, education, scientific research, social security, and other areas towards its military economy.
The 11th package of EU sanctions against Russia, introduced at the end of last month, aims to prevent circumvention of sanctions and close loopholes. It includes a sanctions evasion tool, which should be used as a measure of last resort to restrict the sale, supply, transfer, and export of sanctioned goods and technologies to certain third countries.
In recent months, delegations from the EU, UK, and the US have visited the United Arab Emirates, Kyrgyzstan, Turkey, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Armenia, and Serbia to secure their governments' support in combating sanctions evasion.
India and China remain under suspicion for evading sanctions. Both countries have refused to implement their own restrictive measures.
The West is also attempting to utilise frozen Russian assets for the post-war reconstruction of Ukraine. The President of the European Commission stated last week that the institution is exploring the possibility of levying a tax on the profits generated by Russia's funds held in the EU. President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen hopes that this measure could collect up to 3 billion euros per year. The European Central Bank has expressed concerns about this plan, stating that it could undermine trust in the euro and exacerbate economic instability.
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