There is an agreement by EU foreign ministers to further sanctions against Russia for the attack on Ukraine. We are talking about freezing the assets of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, as well as the second package of economic sanctions, which was initially approved overnight by the leaders of 27 countries at an extraordinary summit. in Brussels. We are constantly monitoring developments.
The second package of restrictions is to be published today in the Official Journal of the European Union, after which it will come into force.
There was no unanimous agreement at the summit about Vladimir Putin and Sergey Lavrov, because Italy and Germany had doubts. Some diplomats suggest that recent events in Ukraine and civilian casualties, as well as social pressure, influenced the change of position.
As for economic sanctions, they cover the financial sector and affect 70 percent of the Russian banking system and companies. In the energy sector, the sale of equipment for the modernization of refineries is prohibited. Sanctions in the aviation sector prohibit the sale of aircraft and parts, as well as repair services. The export of key technologies such as semiconductors or the latest software is prohibited. And then there are visa sanctions against diplomats and oligarchs.
There is currently no agreement to exclude Russia from the SWIFT global financial settlement system.