EU leaders agree ‘maximum impact’ sanctions on Russia – World – Vietnam News | Politics, Business, Economy, Society, Life, Sports

This {photograph} taken on February 24, 2022 exhibits smoke rising close to the city of Hostomel and the Antonov Airport, in northwest Kyiv. — AFP/VNA Photograph

BRUSSELS — EU leaders wrapped up an emergency summit early on Friday with settlement to punish Moscow for sending troops to Ukraine by imposing “extreme” sanctions concentrating on its monetary, power and transport sectors.

European Fee chief Ursula von der Leyen instructed a media convention afterwards they “can have most influence on the Russian economic system and the political elite”.

The summit began late Thursday, the day Russia began blasting navy targets and sending tanks and paratroopers into its pro-Western neighbour Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky addressed the gathering by videolink, telling European presidents and prime ministers that “he doesn’t know if he’ll be capable to converse with us one other time,” Luxembourg’s chief Xavier Bettel recounted as he left.

Von der Leyen stated the packet of sanctions – the second adopted this week by the EU – is “concentrating on 70 per cent of the Russian banking market, but in addition key state-owned corporations together with the sector of defence”.

She didn’t go into particulars, however a listing drawn up by her fee, seen by AFP, proposed including two Russian personal banks – Alfa Financial institution and Financial institution Otkritie – to entities sanctioned by the EU.

It additionally referred to as for Russians to be prohibited from placing deposits over 100,000 euros ($112,000) in EU banks or from buying euro-denominated securities.

Von der Leyen stated the measures “will enhance Russia’s borrowing prices, increase inflation and progressively erode Russia’s industrial base”.

Power sector targets of the sanctions included an export ban on gear and know-how Russia must improve its oil refineries.

An export ban on plane and aircraft elements to Russian airways would additionally “degrade a key sector of Russia’s economic system and the nation’s connectivity,” von der Leyen stated.

“The fourth level is we’re limiting Russia’s entry to essential know-how – we are going to hit Russia’s entry to vital applied sciences it must construct a affluent future corresponding to semiconductors or innovative applied sciences,” she stated.

“And eventually, on visas, diplomats and associated teams and enterprise individuals will not have privileged entry to the European Union.”

Russia to take robust measures in response

In response to EU’s announcement, the Russian International Ministry stated in a press release on Thursday that Russia will take robust measures in response to the European Union’s sanctions over Moscow’s recognition of the independence of the Donetsk and Lugansk Individuals’s Republics.

“The EU’s persevering with unfriendly steps in opposition to Russia and Russia’s fraternal DPR and LPR will be unable to cease the progressive improvement of our states and the availability of help to them. In accordance with the precept of reciprocity, which is prime to worldwide legislation, we are going to take robust response measures,” the assertion stated.

“As an alternative of analyzing what occurred and critically re-evaluating their function within the state of affairs within the DPR and LPR, the EU has resorted to the sanctions strategy mistakenly believing that they’re an efficient approach ahead,” the ministry famous, including that “nobody licensed the EU to deal with the issues of struggle and peace in Europe,” and that “solely the UN Safety Council has this worldwide authorized prerogative.”

“Our repeated messages to Kiev and its Western handlers about the necessity to cease the violence in Donbass and to implement the Minsk Bundle of Measures have fallen on deaf ears. For them, the individuals of the DPR and LPR are only a bargaining chip. Even after Russia acknowledged the independence of those republics, the shelling not solely didn’t cease, however even intensified,” in response to the assertion.

Russian President Vladimir Putin stated in a televised tackle on Thursday morning that in response to a request by the heads of the Donbass republics he had decided to hold out a particular navy operation. The Russian chief pressured that Moscow had no plans of occupying Ukrainian territories.

When clarifying the developments unfolding, the Russian Protection Ministry reassured that Russian troops usually are not concentrating on Ukrainian cities, however are restricted to surgically putting and incapacitating Ukrainian navy infrastructure. There are not any threats in anyway to the civilian inhabitants.

SWIFT rift

The newest sanctions will come into impact as soon as authorized texts are drawn up which can be then formally permitted by member states’ international ministers and printed within the EU’s official journal.

That was anticipated to occur as early as Friday or Saturday.

The leaders additionally mentioned find out how to ramp up political, financial and humanitarian assist for Ukraine.

Whereas EU settlement on the define of the sanctions was speedy, there have been clear divisions over the choice of kicking Russia out of the SWIFT community that the world’s banks use to securely ship messages in an effort to perform transactions.

Zelensky has urged the West to make use of that lever, which has already been applied to devastating impact in opposition to Iran’s banking sector.

However US President Joe Biden, talking in Washington because the EU summit began, stated: “It’s all the time an possibility however proper now that is not the place that the remainder of Europe needs to take.”

That evaluation was borne out by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who steered as he arrived for the summit that SWIFT and different measures ought to be saved “for a state of affairs the place it may be crucial, for different issues”.

Different EU leaders, although, chafed at that stance.

“Discuss is affordable… now we have to be united round huge sanctions, extreme sanctions,” Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki stated.

Latvia’s prime minister, Krisjanis Karins, stated: “SWIFT, I believe it is the very proper path, I believe we must always go in that path”, however provided that different jurisdictions outdoors Europe additionally adopted that tactic. —AFP/TASS