11:10
11 Dec 2020
Foreign Ministry: EU continuing sanctions against Russia is a signal of supporting Ukraine in Normandy format and TCG
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine welcomed the political decision of the European Council to extend the economic and sectoral sanctions against Russia for the next 6 months.
The ministry stated this in their comment.
"We consider this decision as another powerful signal of the EU's support for Ukrainian leadership's efforts within the Normandy format and the Trilateral Contact Group to restore Ukraine's territorial integrity and sovereignty," Foreign Ministry stated.
The Foreign Ministry stressed that since Russia apparently didn't intend to follow the full implementation of all Minsk agreements, consolidated political pressure on Russia by the EU by restrictive measures (sanctions) was crucial.
In the event of continued Russian aggression against Ukraine, sanctions should be strengthened, the Foreign Ministry said.
The sanctions include the following main prohibitions:
- restricting access to the EU's primary and secondary capital markets for leading Russian companies with a majority share of state-owned assets in the authorized share capital and their subsidiaries with a controlling stake created outside the EU.
- imposing export and import bans on the arms trade.
- introducing a ban on the export of dual-use goods for military use or for end consumers of military goods in Russia.
- restricting Russia's access to certain sensitive technologies and services that can be used for oil exploration.
