Germany delays talks on new sanctions against Russia
New sanctions against Russia were to be introduced at the beginning of the G7 summit on Thursday, 13 June, but Germany has failed to reach an agreement on restrictions in time.
Source: German media outlet T-online with reference to DPA
Details: DPA noted that the German government was blocking progress in negotiations on the next package of EU sanctions against Russia. Diplomats in Brussels said that German concerns and requests for changes were the key reason why the sanctions plans had not yet been finalised.
One EU official said recently that Germany had become the new Hungary, alluding to the fact that Prime Minister Viktor Orbán's Budapest government had repeatedly delayed decisions on sanctions against Russia in the past.
The new EU sanctions package is aimed, in particular, at combating the circumvention of existing restrictions. The German government fears that German companies may be held liable for violations, so it proposes either to cancel the measure or to limit it to certain categories of goods.
Brussels is also proposing to restrict trade in Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG) by banning the use of ports such as Zeebrugge in Belgium to ship Russian LNG to third countries.
In addition, Germany is in favour of easing measures aimed at restricting the use of the System for Transfer of Financial Messages (STFM), Russia's equivalent of SWIFT.
Background:
- The United Kingdom, following the United States of America, expanded sanctions against the Russian Federation.
- The US Department of Treasury identified more than a dozen schemes to evade sanctions against Russia's defence industry and imposed restrictions on more than 90 foreign individuals and companies, primarily from China and Türkiye.
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