Germany News

EU sanctions also imposed directly on Putin

Brussels/Berlin (dpa) – In response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the European Union is also imposing sanctions directly on Russian President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. Any assets that the two politicians may have in the EU are to be frozen. They will still be allowed to enter the EU for diplomatic talks, however. The EU foreign ministers decided on this new punitive measure as part of a larger package of sanctions. The economic sanctions that had already been agreed beforehand have now come into force.

Commenting on the measures against the Russian president, Federal Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said: “We are hitting the Putin system where it needs to be hit, not just economically and financially, but at its core of power”. She explained that clear sanctions are now being imposed on Putin and Lavrov, these being the people “who are responsible for this atrocity against the people in Ukraine”. Referring to the entire sanctions package, she added: “This will ruin Russia.”

The heads of state and government had already agreed on the broad outlines of the punitive measures at a special EU summit held on Thursday following the attack on Ukraine. The measures are intended to inflict significant damage on the country and its economy. To this end, for example, the state and selected private banks and companies will have their opportunities for refinancing restricted. In addition, the EU is imposing export restrictions on strategically important goods with a view to hitting companies in the transport and energy sectors in particular.

The sanctions package does not yet include Russia’s exclusion from the Swift payment network, which is likewise being discussed and would essentially cut Russian banks off from the global financial system.

Foreign Minister Baerbock defended Germany’s restraint on this point. The broader impact of decoupling Russia from the Swift system would not be the same as sanctioning individual banks. She said that for “now, and I really mean just for now”, the major banks would be put on the sanctions list, explaining that ways to avoid the problems of Swift’s broad impact would be explored. Baerbock stressed that words like ‘Swift agreement’ “sound very, very strong”. “But at these moments, despite everything that is going through your whole body, through your heart, you have to keep a cool head.”

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