Kallas urged the EU to extend sanctions against Russia despite disagreements
Kyiv • UNN
Kaja Kallas urged the EU to extend sanctions against Russia and swiftly adopt a new package. Countries are arguing over Usmanov and Fridman.
The EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Kaja Kallas, called on the permanent representatives of EU member states to extend sanctions against Russia ahead of their upcoming meeting, citing the war in Ukraine. UNN reports this, referring to DW.
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"Sanctions are a key element of our response to the war launched by Russia," aimed at depriving Moscow of funding, Kallas told journalists in New York on Monday, September 21.
According to Kallas, quoted by AFP, representatives of EU countries seek to conclude negotiations on extending restrictive measures against the Russian Federation in the near future and ensure that they enter into force swiftly. The EU's foreign policy chief stressed that the EU's position remains unchanged and that Brussels is already working on a new package of sanctions.
The next meeting of the permanent representatives of EU countries is scheduled for the morning of September 22, an EU diplomat in Brussels told DW. It will discuss lifting sanctions on Russian billionaires Alisher Usmanov and Mikhail Fridman while maintaining restrictive measures against thousands of other individuals and organizations.
Divisions within the EU over extending sanctions against the Russian Federation
Earlier, on September 14, the permanent representatives of EU countries failed to agree on another six-month extension of sanctions against Russia for violating Ukraine's territorial integrity and decided to extend the existing regime during further consultations—until midnight on September 22.
Sources speaking to the publication on condition of anonymity explained that the disagreements were related to Slovakia's efforts to remove Usmanov and Fridman from the sanctions list. France, for its part, was blocking the extension of the sanctions regime, seeking to have Usmanov excluded from it. Luxembourg also advocated removing Fridman from the punitive measures, Reuters reported on September 21, citing diplomatic sources.
Ukraine viewed the possibility of lifting sanctions against both Russian billionaires critically. According to Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, Usmanov and Fridman were added to the sanctions lists because of their affiliation with the "Russian aggressive regime waging a war of conquest against Ukraine." Nothing has changed since then, Sybiha noted.