Yermak-McFaul international expert group has become a platform for sanctions policy against russia – President's Office
Another meeting of the International Expert Group on Sanctions against кussia was held under the chairmanship of the Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, Andrii Yermak, and the ex-adviser of the US President on national security, Ambassador Michael McFaul
Rubryka reports, referring to the Office of the President.
The event was held online.
Andrii Yermak noted that the group's experts prepared four large-scale documents and several statements and actively informed the general public about the need for sanctions against russia.
"These efforts are highly appreciated by the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky, the Ukrainian government, and, most importantly, the entire Ukrainian people.
Our allies also noticed them. The documents of our group have been handed over to the leaders of many states – the United States of America, Great Britain, and the European Union," said the head of the presidential office.
According to him, last week, two American senators, during a meeting with the President of Ukraine, mentioned the work of the International Expert Group.
"They noted that the idea of recognizing Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism stems from the Action Plan provided by our group," said Andrii Yermak.
The head of the President's Office emphasized that more than 50% of the group's action plan steps have been completed.
As Andrii Yermak noted, the International Expert Group has become a key platform for forming sanctions against the aggressor country.
"Now we see how EU sanctions coordinators are developing the seventh package based on the materials of our group.
We see the reflection of our ideas in the sanctions of Great Britain, the USA, and other states of the sanctioning coalition. Overall, the group made a significant impact. I would like us to support this success," he said.
The head of the President's Office noted that russia continues the war against our country. Therefore, expanding the sanctions package against the aggressor country is very important.
"Further energy and financial sanctions, expansion of individual sanctions. We are telling the world: there is no time to get tired of sanctions, and therefore we should continue our work," Yermak emphasized.
The meeting participants agreed on the importance of strengthening sanctions against russia. In particular:
- recognizing the aggressor as a state sponsor of terrorism,
- expanding personal sanctions,
- further sectoral sanctions in the financial and energy spheres,
- broader trade and technological restrictions.
The aggressor country should suffer as much damage as possible, experts emphasized.
They also proposed to analyze the impact of sanctions on specific sectors of the russian economy to develop recommendations for strengthening their effectiveness.
Concerning additional formats of the group's work, Andrii Yermak suggested holding regular video conference briefings with colleagues from other countries who work directly on sanctions policy.
Andrii Yermak thanked the participants of the International Expert Group for their essential work and called on them to make new proposals and generate ideas to achieve results.
Read Rubryka's daily timeline of war: current news on Ukraine's defense against russia's aggression.