Polish Deputy Foreign Minister Pawel Jablonski said in an interview: Polska Agencija Prasowa About how work on the seventh package of sanctions against the Russian Federation is going.
Asked by a journalist whether representatives of EU countries had begun to discuss the restrictions, he replied, “Of course yes.”
“In the context of removing all Russian banks from the SWIFT system, the sanctions should be even tougher in the context of gas that Russia can still sell. Here I am talking primarily about Gazprombank,” said Yablonsky. We remember that Gazprombank became a bank accepting payments for Russian gas under a new program – by converting euros to rubles.
The Deputy Minister also announced that an embargo should be imposed on technologies that can be “supplied to Russia” and “used in its industry”.
In addition to official sanctions, confiscation of Russian assets in Europe and not just freezing. “Work in this area is already underway,” said the diplomat.
Bypassing the sanctions and Budapest’s location
Yablonsky acknowledged that many European companies and citizens are trying to find ways to circumvent the sanctions, and that “remains a big problem for now.” “Most actors do a lot to circumvent sanctions, find creative ways to avoid them. We see this at least in the case of gas payments, when many companies and EU countries nevertheless decide to open an account with Gazprombank to officially pay in euros and dollars, it is actually instantly converted into currency. ruble, – noted.
According to the deputy minister, such bypass plans “shake confidence in the European Union.” “This is something the EU has to deal with – we will discuss this issue seriously, including at the European Council summit,” he added.
Yablonsky also commented on the position of the Hungarian authorities, who actively oppose the oil embargo and sanctions against a number of Russians, including the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Kirill: to do nothing.
“We are applying very strong diplomatic and political pressure on Hungary, and we are also addressing the people directly,” the diplomat said.
sixth pack
On the eve of the EU announced the adoption of the sixth package of sanctions against Russia. It went into effect on Friday, but the oil embargo was delayed for six months. The partial embargo includes temporary exemptions for Hungary, Slovakia, Bulgaria and Croatia. By keeping the oil supply through the Druzhba pipeline out of the embargo, the countries gained some benefits for sea supply, and the ban on transporting oil from Russia by tankers under the flags of EU countries was waived.
In addition, the restrictions impose a ban on consulting, auditing and public relations services, as well as restricting access to cloud services. The EU also plans to ban the export to Russia of around 80 chemical compounds that could be used to make chemical weapons. The sanctions also include disconnecting several more banks from SWIFT and suspending the broadcast of Russia-24, RTR-Planet and TV-Center TV channels in the EU.
According to Yablonsky, the sixth package of measures adopted is not enough, but it could cut off Vladimir Putin’s ability to finance military operations. “There are always some compromises, but we have made tremendous progress – I think this is one of the greatest achievements of Polish diplomacy in recent years.”
“We need to deprive Putin of his maneuverability. Of course, it is necessary to increase the possibilities for Ukraine to maneuver, that is, to continue the supply of equipment,” he said.
One of the most important parts of the new package is the oil embargo. “This is what Poland proposed right after the start of the war, and then many people said it was absolutely futile, it was impossible,” he said. “Of course we managed to build a strong coalition in favor of the embargo, which required long and hard work – above all by the Prime Minister, but also by all Polish diplomacy. “I think this is a historic step,” he said.
However, the Russian president “still has the resources” and can “still spend money on the military”.
All EU restrictions
The first package of restrictions was adopted even before the start of special operations on February 22. Sanctions were imposed on 351 State Duma deputies who voted to recognize the independence of the two self-declared republics in Donbass. The European Union also banned European companies from doing business with the LPR and DPR and decided to impose sanctions by limiting access to Russia’s public debt, the community’s capital and financial markets.
Later, a ban on new deliveries, aircraft maintenance and insurance, and an order to return leased aircraft were added to the sanctions package. The EU also froze the assets of the Central Bank, banned the supply of luxury goods, premium perfumes, alcohol, household appliances and clothing (worth more than €300 per unit) to Russia, imports of coal and other solid fossil fuels from Russia. , participation of companies from the Russian Federation in public procurement in the EU and transactions with a number of major Russian banks.
The list of sanctions includes more than a hundred Russians, including Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Interior Minister Vladimir Kolokoltsev and Deputy Chairman of the Security Council Dmitry Medvedev.