European Union sanctions may target financial institutions that support the flow of military products to Russia, as well as the supply of products manufactured in Southeast Asia by Western subsidiaries, said the EU Special Representative for Sanctions David O'Sullivan, UNN reports citing Reuters.
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The bloc imposed large-scale sanctions against Russia for its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
EU Special Representative David O'Sullivan said that sanctions are not a "magic pill" and that their purpose is to make it harder, slower and more expensive for Russia to fuel its war machine. He added that he had no illusions about circumventing the restrictions and that listing companies that sell dual-use goods to Moscow is often an attempt to "hit the mole.
The EU has been successful in reducing the circumvention of sanctions through Central Asian states, he said, and the reduction in these flows has been evident after diplomatic efforts with Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Armenia and others. However, he faces a more difficult task in stemming similar flows in Southeast Asia, where countries are producers and not just transit stations.
"Most of the products that go through China are produced by subsidiaries of Western companies in Southeast Asia," O'Sullivan said, speaking at a Brussels Think Tank event after visits to Vietnam, Thailand and Malaysia to address these issues.
"We are talking about identifying financial institutions that potentially finance the transshipment of military products (to Russia)," he said.
"If such institutions are identified, they will be contacted and notified... if they do not stop, they risk being listed. The United States did this with great success in three cases earlier this year. We are starting to collect information and compare records," the special representative said.
He said that despite the restrictions, the measures of the EU and Western powers have pushed Russia to a war economy, which will cause great damage to the country's economic future and will become increasingly evident in the next year or two.