Contents tagged with Sanctions on Russia

  • Poroshenko and May discuss strengthening sanctions against Russia

    Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and British Prime Minister Theresa May recently discussed strengthening sanctions against Russia following the construction of a bridge across the Kerch Strait in annexed Crimea, a Ukrainian press service reports.

    “The Ukrainian President emphasized the necessity of strengthening international pressure on Russia in order to fully implement the Minsk agreements,” the statement reads. “The parties stressed the importance of continuing and strengthening …

  • Russia pays off $1 billion of oligarch Vekselberg’s debt

    The Russian oligarch Viktor Vekselberg, who has recently been placed under sanctions, has paid off his loans to western banks using financial assistance from the government.

    Vekselberg’s Renova Group repaid $1 billion to a consortium of European, Swiss and American banks, including JPMorgan, Credit Suisse, and UBS.

    The loans needed to be repaid in a hurry. The US Treasury Department, which recently blacklisted Vekselberg and all of his companies, demanded that all deals be broken off by June 5 …

  • US preparing new sanctions against Russia for non-compliance with INF missile treaty

    US President Donald Trump instructed Secretary of State Michael Pompeo to prepare additional sanctions against Russia due to Russia’s non-compliance with the Treaty on the Elimination of Intermediate-Range and Shorter-Range Missiles (INF Treaty), as noted in a statement on the White House website.

    According to paragraph C of the US defense budget for fiscal year 2018, the President is obligated to prepare and submit an action plan to Congress dealing with persons responsible for Russia's …

  • Kyiv introduces sanctions against individuals and companies involved in Russian aggression against Ukraine

    Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has signed the decree on the National Security and Defense Council’s (NSDC) decision to introduce sanctions against legal entities and individuals associated with the Russian aggression against Ukraine.

    The decision of the NSDC was published on the President’s website on Friday, May 18. The decree, No. 126, states it addresses the ‘Application and Cancellation of Personal Special Economic and Other Restrictive Measures (Sanctions).’

    On May 2, the NSDC …

  • Kyiv vows further international sanctions against Russia over Crimean Bridge

    Ukraine will ensure that international sanctions are introduced against the companies and persons who participate in the construction of the Crimean bridge, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry announced.

    “Ukraine will work consistently on the increase in national and international sanctions against the physical and legal entities involved in the illegal construction of the bridge crossing over the Kerch strait,” the statement on the Foreign Ministry’s website reads.

    The department also expressed …

  • Russia calls EU Council's sanctions against the members of Crimea's election commission 'an unfriendly step'

    The Russian Foreign Ministry called the sanctions of the EU Council against members of the Russian-controlled electoral commissions of the Crimea and the former Chairman of the electoral commission of Sevastopol “an unfriendly step,” as stated by Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova.

    "Russia reserves the right to give a tit-for-tat response to the European Union’s yet-again unfriendly step... The European Union’s new measures once again demonstrate its real attitude to the …

  • Russia to start printing money to assist billionaires under sanctions

    The Russian government has already given assistance to sanctioned billionaire Viktor Vekselberg’s Renova Group, and is currently working on financial support measures for Oleg Deripaska’s companies, including Rusal and the GAZ group, as announced on Monday by Russia’s acting  Finance Minister Anton Siluanov.

    Vekselberg, who asked the government for a total of $5.7 billion, was given assistance last week, Siluanov noted.

    “I simply would not like to talk about amounts,” Siluanov responded when …

  • EU Council imposes sanctions against five organizers of Russian presidential elections in Crimea

    The EU Council imposed sanctions against five organizers of the presidential election in the annexed Crimea, stated by President Petro Poroshenko on Facebook.

    “I welcome the official decision of the EU Council to impose sanctions against five persons responsible for the illegal presidential election held in the temporarily occupied Crimea and Sevastopol. Punishment for any unlawful actions against the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine is inevitable,” he wrote.

    Poroshenko also …

  • London Stock Exchange refuses to resume trading of aluminum produced by Deripaska's Rusal

    The London Metal Exchange (LME) will maintain temporary restrictions on the sale of aluminum by Rusal until procedures for determining the metal’s conformity to the US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) General License 14 (GL-14) are determined, TASS news agency reports, citing the press representative of the Exchange.

    "The LME has analyzed the implications of OFAC General License 14 (GL-14) for Rusal brand metal. The LME understands that there are concerns in the …

  • German liberals support sanctions against Russia

    A vast majority of German delegates supported continuing sanctions against the Russian Federation during a vote on Sunday, May 13, at the Free Democratic Party (FDP) congress in Berlin, DW reports. Vice Chairman of the FDP, Wolfgang Kubicki, initiated the discussion after calling for a “critical review” of sanctions imposed by the West. This resulted in fierce debates within the party, and as a result, the majority of party members did not support Kubicki’s proposal.

    During the debate, …